Gas prices aren’t skyrocketing as they were last July Fourth, but many travelers still plan to curb their holiday travel.

Forty-five percent of Americans say gas prices — nearly $1.50 a gallon lower than their high of $4 a year ago — will limit their travel plans this weekend, according to a new National Retail Federation survey.

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The caution reflects the depths of a recession that has slammed pocketbooks shut even as gasoline prices have moderated, economists say.

“If you look at the hurdles in front of consumer spending now, they are numerous and daunting. Gas is just one of those,” said Robert Dye, a senior economist with National City, now part of PNC.

Also pinching wallets are worries about holding on to jobs amid rising unemployment and keeping homes as foreclosures mount. In Indiana, unemployment hit 10.6 percent last month, higher than the national rate of 9.4 percent.

Auto club AAA also blames the economic uncertainty for a projected decline in travel this Fourth of July weekend. It expects 37.1 million travelers to take a trip of 50 miles or more away from home this year, a decrease of 1.9 percent from last year.

The decline is expected even though gas prices have dropped in recent days after rising steadily for the past two months. In Indianapolis, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell to $2.57 on Wednesday, down from $2.70 a week ago, AAA reports. Nationally, the average Wednesday was $2.63.

More than 85 percent of Americans expect gas prices to spike over the holiday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation survey of 8,635 consumers conducted June 2-9. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

Laura Johnson, Indianapolis, has found a way to guard against any price jump and still take a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

She and her boyfriend will join two other couples and another friend for the trip. Instead of each couple taking a separate vehicle, as they might have in better times, all seven people will cram their travel gear into two cars for the seven-hour drive.

“We, like everyone else, are trying to cut back while making decisions,” said Johnson, 32. “It’s going to be a little tight. But it’s going to save money, and it’s going to be relaxing and inexpensive.”

Once in Missouri, Johnson and her boyfriend will stay at the lake house of one of their friends’ parents. They will cook instead of dining out and avoid extra splurging. The bulk of the expense will be the gas for the drive and for the boat they take out on the lake.

“That’s going to be an expense, but it’s still better than flying somewhere,” Johnson said.

Motorists were more willing to travel 50 miles or more for a vacation when gas prices fell to $1.50 a gallon in December. But once prices topped $2.25 earlier this year, about 18 percent of Americans began to cut back on travel, according to the National Retail Federation survey. If gas tops $3 a gallon, an additional 16.4 percent of Americans say they will reduce their travel.

Local tourism officials aren’t banking on many out-of-state travelers visiting here.

“What we’ve heard from our tourism partners around the state is they really feel like they are getting a lot of local people who are traveling the shorter distance within the state,” said Curt Brantingham with the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.

The trend was so evident that in May, the state tourism office redesigned its Web site (visitindiana.com) to focus on discounts and deals marketing the “stay close to home/save money” message to Hoosiers.

“It’s economic,” Brantingham said. “Even if you do have your job and everything is still intact, you don’t know what the future holds.”