Another Driving in NYC Question

[leebee]

We will be at Liberty State Park in NJ, heading home to New England (Maine) on Friday afternoon. We are going to have to cross over the Hudson to Manhattan at some point. Would you recommend crossing over at the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, or George Washington Bridge? Yahoomaps, Mapquest, and AAA each give a different option! My gut says stay out of Manhattan as long as possible on a Friday early evening, but is travel in NJ just as bad?

 

[jmmess]

Friday afternoon is a tough time to travel anywhere from the city as it is rush "hour" from mid/late afternoon (especially in the summer). Definitely GWB as the tunnels take you in to the city. From the GWB you can take Rt. 9A/Henry Hudson Pkwy up to the Saw Mill to the Cross County and go up from there - this avoids cutting across the city. I would actually tell you either to leave Friday morning or late on Friday to avoid traffic.

 

[mjkacmom]

Rush hour starts at noon on Fridays in NJ. I second the GWB as the best option, but listen to 880 am and 1010 am. It might take a few hours to get out of the NYC area.

 

[czycropper]

GWB would be my choice. Just realize that turnpike can either be a breeze or a parking lot depending on the time you leave Liberty State Park!

 

[leebee]

Friday afternoon is a tough time to travel anywhere from the city as it is rush "hour" from mid/late afternoon (especially in the summer). Definitely GWB as the tunnels take you in to the city. From the GWB you can take Rt. 9A/Henry Hudson Pkwy up to the Saw Mill to the Cross County and go up from there - this avoids cutting across the city. I would actually tell you either to leave Friday morning or late on Friday to avoid traffic.

I think this is pretty much the route we took. We have a "sickie" so we skipped Ellis Island- just did the Statue and headed home around 3:15pm. We HAD maps and a plan, but got off course somewhere when the "plan" didn't agree with the GPS lady! We followed the GPS, which I normally hate but in this case it was a lifesaver- and ended up heading towards Danbury and cut across CT that way. Jersey City was a nightmare- just too many vehicles for the streets- but the rest was mostly OK. The worst traffic, hands down, was from the many construction sites across CT and MA. I bet there were 8 or 10 of them. Who in their right minds cuts highway traffic flow from 3 or 4 lanes to 1 on a Friday evening? I have to say, I enjoyed driving in Manhattan… I know, I know, it'd lose its luster if I had to do it regularly, but found it to be kind of a rush being able to get into and out of the heart of Times Square without a scratch or dent- or road rage!

Thanks for all your advice, everyone! This thread actually gave me the confidence to try this- we had a GREAT TIME in NYC!!

 

[Janepod]

GW to Henry Hudson to Saw Mill. AVOID THE CROSS BRONX NO MATTER WHAT.
There is nothing in life I feel more certain about. NEVER TAKE THE CROSS BRONX.

 

[JVL1018]

We will be at Liberty State Park in NJ, heading home to New England (Maine) on Friday afternoon. We are going to have to cross over the Hudson to Manhattan at some point. Would you recommend crossing over at the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, or George Washington Bridge? Yahoomaps, Mapquest, and AAA each give a different option! My gut says stay out of Manhattan as long as possible on a Friday early evening, but is travel in NJ just as bad?

Why do you have to go into Manhattan to go home?
I live in NJ about 10 minutes from the GWB, but anytime I'm going north to CT, Mass, etc, I take the Tappan Zee.

Liberty State Park, you'd take the turnpike to 80 to the Garden State Parkway to the NY Thruway.

 

[Imzadi]

Why do you have to go into Manhattan to go home?
I live in NJ about 10 minutes from the GWB, but anytime I'm going north to CT, Mass, etc, I take the Tappan Zee.

Liberty State Park, you'd take the turnpike to 80 to the Garden State Parkway to the NY Thruway.

This, there is NO reason to be going into Manhattan at all, unless you are making a pit stop there. New York State is a lot bigger than just Manhattan. Plus, ALL entrances into Manhattan have a $13+ toll to get in.

An alternate route to the one above (which is how I'd do it,) is to take the NJ Turnpike all the way to the Palisades Parkway, OR the Garden State Parkway to the NYS Thruway, north. Once you are on the Thruway, you have SEVERAL ways to cross the Hudson River, depending how far up the Thruway you go.

You can cross at the Tappan Zee, as listed above.

OR: Take the NYS Thruway north to Interstate 84 East at Newburgh, Exit 17, across the Newburgh Beacon Bridge, skipping all the downstate city traffic, then head towards Connecticut and/or MA.

OR Take the thruway up to the Massachusetts Turnpike. I think it's around exit 22(?) to go through MA. Although, you'd be backtracking back down a bit to get to the Mass Turnpike. But the Thruway is very speedy, unlike some of the windy CT highways.

 

[Warren325]

This, there is NO reason to be going into Manhattan at all, unless you are making a pit stop there. New York State is a lot bigger than just Manhattan. Plus, ALL entrances into Manhattan have a $13+ toll to get in.

An alternate route to the one above (which is how I'd do it,) is to take the NJ Turnpike all the way to the Palisades Parkway, OR the Garden State Parkway to the NYS Thruway, north. Once you are on the Thruway, you have SEVERAL ways to cross the Hudson River, depending how far up the Thruway you go.

You can cross at the Tappan Zee, as listed above.

OR: Take the NYS Thruway north to Interstate 84 East at Newburgh, Exit 17, across the Newburgh Beacon Bridge, skipping all the downstate city traffic, then head towards Connecticut and/or MA.

OR Take the thruway up to the Massachusetts Turnpike. I think it's around exit 22(?) to go through MA. Although, you'd be backtracking back down a bit to get to the Mass Turnpike. But the Thruway is very speedy, unlike some of the windy CT highways.

Agreed!

 

[Caradana]

Tappan Zee, no question. Don't cross into Manhattan.

 

[Poohforyou]

Why do you have to go into Manhattan to go home?
I live in NJ about 10 minutes from the GWB, but anytime I'm going north to CT, Mass, etc, I take the Tappan Zee.

Liberty State Park, you'd take the turnpike to 80 to the Garden State Parkway to the NY Thruway.

We're in NJ and use the tappen zee as well. We then get on the Merritt parkway. We try to avoid Manhattan and 95 as much as possible. Mileage wise it might be farther but time wise it's a huge savings.

 

[Aliceacc]

I agree... take the Tappan Zee!!