301 route around Balt., DC.

[drewc]

The USAstar I-95 website lists an alternate route from Wilmington DE to between Fredericksburg and Richmond (301). It shaves 2 miles off the 95 route, but doesn't compare itself to the 495 beltway.

Has anyone tried this alternate route before? Is exit 1 right as you cross into DE? Just looking for any opinions or experiences on this. I think we'll be approaching DC around 8pm or so on a week night.

Thanks.

 

[DaveH]

I haven't used 301 in over 10 years. So no help there. Getting near DC at 8PM the traffic should be getting lighter and should not be much of a problem, unless an accident.

 

[bdcp]

There was another thread a few weeks ago on using 301. I grew up near there. It can be wall to wall cars as well as having tons of traffic lights. It may shave 2 miles, but it probably adds an hour or more to the trip. Going through Bowie, and then Waldorf can be very painful. There is very heavy traffic in Waldorf just about all the time. The area has grown tremendously and the roads are always full. 495 is fine on the weekends (early or late) and weekdays if you avoid rush hour. Even rush hour can be hard to judge. The Woodrow Wilson bridge doesn't get raised during rush hours, but the I-395/95 interchange in Springfield (Mixing Bowl) is still a mess during rush hours even though they're making progress on the new ramps. 8 pm on a weeknight will not be bad on 495. The only things that could slow you down are weather (that's anywhere) and the bridge (not usually opened that time of night). I know on the local news they show when the bridge is going up that day, but I've never done a search for the current day online. The reason they dont' post way ahead is that not all boats/ships passing through are regularly scheduled commercial ships. Here's a link I just found to the schedule for the next few days: http://www.wilsonbridge.com/cms/cms-openings.htm.

 

[drewc]

Thanks for your advice. I think we'll stick to 495 given the time of day we'll be approaching DC. Hopefully the traffic won't be too heavy.