can you steer me around route 95 heading to fl from ma?

[newholidayx2]

Ive been told there are alternate routes (than 95) to get around the cities heading from MA to FL
Route 295 skirts around Richmond?

also where's a good halfway point? thinking Emporia right under Richmond

thanks for your help - heading out in the morning

 

[seashoreCM]

These are not necessarily the best but you can think about them:

New York City. Take the Tappan Zee bridge instead of the George Washington to skirt around the horn and avoid city traffic.

Baltimore. I forget the number (695?) but there is a beltway that skirts around the horn through Towson so you avoid the midtown tunnel.

Washington DC. A lost cause. There are beltways that skirt around the horn but they're just as crowded. There are also routes like 301 and 13 through Dover DE and Newport News but I'm sure they are full of traffic lights so you won't save time.

Jacksonville. There is a west beltway that skirts around the horn. I tnink the number is 295.

Orlando. After getting off I-95 for the last time onto I-4 west (southwest) take Toll 417 before hitting Orlando, skirts around the horn (MCO) to the east.

OT: When the Interstate highway system was built, Rochester NY felt it was shortchanged when it was left out; the only big road (NY Thruway) skirted it and only spurs were added into the city. But the through traveling public benefited, not having to hit city traffic.

 

[GranddadTom]

I’m afraid that you may be overly concerned with the big cities. The first thing that you should think about is when you will be at each. Then is it a workday or a weekend. If you are leaving Florida tomorrow (that’s a workday but no one will be at work) the traffic around the big cities will be light. My son left WDW yesterday around 11:00 am and made it to Charlotte (520 miles) in less than 8 hours and that included a 45 minute stop. He said there was no traffic on Rt. 95. We drove down from just north of DC a week ago (Tuesday, actually) and made that trip in under 13 hours – again no real traffic. If I were you, I’d stay on Rt. 95 through Jacksonville. In Richmond, I stay on Rt. 95 instead of taking Rt. 295 which is 5 miles longer. The big problem in Washington is not the beltway (I take that to work every day) but Rt. 95 south of Washington. You must avoid that at all costs during rush hour on workdays (going north into the city in the morning and going south in the evening – 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm is rush hour). If you stay in Emporia, you’ll be two hours or so south of Washington. On a Saturday, that should present no problems. In Baltimore, don’t mess with the beltway – stay on Rt. 95 through the tunnel. What you do north of there is your preference. I go right across the GW Bridge, pick up the southern part of the New York Thruway, get on Rt. 287 to the Wilbur Cross and up through Connecticut that way.

 

[goofy4tink]

I wouldn't worry about the cities for the most part. DS made the trip a few years ago...left central Mass (about 40 mins north of you) about 4:30ish, in the morning, on a Thursday. He missed all the NYC and DC traffic. In fact, he called me to ask where the 'traffic' was...barely touched the brakes. And with it being the day after Christmas, you shouldn't have to worry about much 'business' traffic..just around the malls, for the shoppers.
Drive safely!!

 

[WillCAD]

On the day after Christmas this year, which is a Friday, you won't have much traffic in any of the cities, because schools are all out, and a lot of people will be taking the day off to make a 4-day weekend. So don't worry about fidning alternate routes; just take the shortest routes through each city.

I-295 around Richmond is usually better than I-95 through Richmond. It's smoother, has fewer interchanges, higher speed, more lanes, and far fewer curves and snakes that cause lower speed and accidents. Even though it's a little longer by milage, it's almost always quicker because of the higher speeds and straighter alignment.

Baltimore. I forget the number (695?) but there is a beltway that skirts around the horn through Towson so you avoid the midtown tunnel.

Washington DC. A lost cause. There are beltways that skirt around the horn but they're just as crowded. There are also routes like 301 and 13 through Dover DE and Newport News but I'm sure they are full of traffic lights so you won't save time.

I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway) is a roughly circular route surrounding the city of Baltimore. I-95 passes completely through the city like a slash from northeast to southwest. This makes I-695 seem like a viable alternate route to I-95 when passing Baltimore, especially when you see the construction going on at the northern interchange where I-95 passes I-695.

But in reality, taking I-695 is not a viable alternate route unless I-95 has an accident or other incident that really snarls traffic. Traffic on I-695, either to the east or west of Baltimore, is generally worse then on I-95, particularly during the rush hours, and the routes are both longer in both distance and time. Tune in to local radio stations and listen to traffic reports - I like Mix 106.5 for top 40.

As to DC, there are a few alternate routes, most of which take much longer and have a far greater chance of getting folks lost, but the best way to get through DC is to time your passage at night. Any time after 7pm and before 6am will do. If you can't time your passage at night, the next best thing is to do it during the slack periods between the rush hours, which would be 10am-3pm.

 

[Uncleromulus]

The day after XMAS two years ago, we left Baltimore at 10:00 AM to go to Williamsburg Va. We got there at 5:00 PM. It was absolute GRIDLOCK from the flyover at DC all the way to Richmond--when we finally got off on the 295bypass and traffic moved again.
And I mean gridlock--no accidents, no bad weather.

 

[JimB.]

Don't worry about taking 295 around jacksonville unless you are coming through at evening rush hour times (approx 5-6 pm). Coming straight through the city will save you about 1/2 hour of driving and a couple gallons of gas.......

The same goes for the 417 beltway around Orlando.

 

[cranbiz]

What JimB said.

 

[jobie61]

I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway) is a roughly circular route surrounding the city of Baltimore. I-95 passes completely through the city like a slash from northeast to southwest. This makes I-695 seem like a viable alternate route to I-95 when passing Baltimore, especially when you see the construction going on at the northern interchange where I-95 passes I-695.

But in reality, taking I-695 is not a viable alternate route unless I-95 has an accident or other incident that really snarls traffic. Traffic on I-695, either to the east or west of Baltimore, is generally worse then on I-95, particularly during the rush hours, and the routes are both longer in both distance and time. Tune in to local radio stations and listen to traffic reports - I like Mix 106.5 for top 40.

The only viable alternative to get around Baltimaore is I-895, and works very good. I highly recommend this route as it doesn't add any amount of time to you trip. It is easy to pick up off of 95 and dumps you right back on 95. Look at it on a map.

 

[WillCAD]

The only viable alternative to get around Baltimaore is I-895, and works very good. I highly recommend this route as it doesn't add any amount of time to you trip. It is easy to pick up off of 95 and dumps you right back on 95. Look at it on a map.

I take I-895 all the time. It's only a viable alternate for part of the trip through Baltimore, and has some serious drawbacks:

1) It's only two lanes wide and has no shoulders for several miles
2) Speed limit is only 50mph and the MD Transportation Authority Police (Tunnel Cops, as they are commonly called around here) patrol it like hawks, looking for speeders (and they are merciless - if they stop you, you WILL get a ticket, 100% guaranteed!)
3) I-895 has a spur that will take you in the wrong direction, and if you are unfamiliar with the road, you can easily wind up in Annapolis before you even know you've taken the wrong way, costing you an hour or more of travel time.

So I recommend sticking with I-95 through the middle of Baltimore, unless you are at least a little familiar with the area, or have a good map or GPS system to guide you.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Ok so I've been thru all the responses so far and it seems you're all sticking to I-95 in general. I have to disagree: I say try to avoid I-95 and the major East Coast cities as much as possible. AAA and the computer services all think I-95 is the way to go, until you take traffic inot account; by avoiding the East Coast cities altogether you can push on through and just drive rather than sitting in traffic on someone else's way to work.

First of all, for some reason, the computer and GPS direction always think that the George Washington Bridge is somehow the best way to get thru NYC: I say (and so do most others) that unless you're travelling in the dead of night (and even then your chances are only so-so) you will hit wicked traffic on the GW. Better to take the Tappan Zee to I-287 and go around NYC (preferably via I-684 or the Merritt Pkwy). Or better yet, go inland to Scranton on I-84 and I-81 and avoid it all.

Overall, you might want to think of taking the Shenendoah Valley route, going inland to I-81 from Scranton or Harrisburg. This way, you miss all of the big cities; in fact, the largest cities you will hit on this route will be Hartford CT and Charlotte NC (so just avoid rush hours in those two and you're set). I have a colleague from Wilbraham (near Springfield) who swears by the I-84 to I-81 then down I-77 to Florida route, having done it numerous times. The only time he says I-95 might be faster is when there's a lot of new-fallen snow in the mountains. I took this route coming back from Atlanta with our new (used) wheelchair van for my son, and I must say, it was really pretty, and rather nice driving.

So think outside the box! Skip the whole Bos-Wash corridor and go inland! save your sanilty by avoiding the traffic of someone else's commute.

Good luck!

 

[Uncleromulus]

THis isn't a bad route--except for the trucks. Be prepared to do battle with thousands of tractor/trailers on I-81. We take I-81 when we go to Charlottesville and Ashville and I dread it every time. They travel in groups of 10-20 and going up all those hills it's 35 MPH and going down they are going near 80 and DON"T be in their way!!!

 

[DVCJones]

Ok so I've been thru all the responses so far and it seems you're all sticking to I-95 in general. I have to disagree: I say try to avoid I-95 and the major East Coast cities as much as possible. AAA and the computer services all think I-95 is the way to go, until you take traffic inot account; by avoiding the East Coast cities altogether you can push on through and just drive rather than sitting in traffic on someone else's way to work.

First of all, for some reason, the computer and GPS direction always think that the George Washington Bridge is somehow the best way to get thru NYC: I say (and so do most others) that unless you're travelling in the dead of night (and even then your chances are only so-so) you will hit wicked traffic on the GW. Better to take the Tappan Zee to I-287 and go around NYC (preferably via I-684 or the Merritt Pkwy). Or better yet, go inland to Scranton on I-84 and I-81 and avoid it all.

Overall, you might want to think of taking the Shenendoah Valley route, going inland to I-81 from Scranton or Harrisburg. This way, you miss all of the big cities; in fact, the largest cities you will hit on this route will be Hartford CT and Charlotte NC (so just avoid rush hours in those two and you're set). I have a colleague from Wilbraham (near Springfield) who swears by the I-84 to I-81 then down I-77 to Florida route, having done it numerous times. The only time he says I-95 might be faster is when there's a lot of new-fallen snow in the mountains. I took this route coming back from Atlanta with our new (used) wheelchair van for my son, and I must say, it was really pretty, and rather nice driving.

So think outside the box! Skip the whole Bos-Wash corridor and go inland! save your sanilty by avoiding the traffic of someone else's commute.

Good luck!

I have been thinking of this too.

We always go this route on our annual April trip to WDW. It is a lovely ride. However, this year we will be going in February and I have been questioning the weather/ snow factor. Does anyone out there have any experience traveling this route during snow season. How well to they keep up with clearing the roads? Is there a local website that I can check the weather forecast for that area when I get closer to our travel date? Should I just go 95? Is there anything else I should consider?

I have been giving this a lot of thought...can you tell

 

[WillCAD]

I have been thinking of this too.

We always go this route on our annual April trip to WDW. It is a lovely ride. However, this year we will be going in February and I have been questioning the weather/ snow factor. Does anyone out there have any experience traveling this route during snow season. How well to they keep up with clearing the roads? Is there a local website that I can check the weather forecast for that area when I get closer to our travel date? Should I just go 95? Is there anything else I should consider?

I have been giving this a lot of thought...can you tell

I've only driven I-81 once (to a family funeral in Floyd, near Blacksburg, VA), but on the way home there was a major snowstorm, and I'll NEVER do that again! The highway had as much snow on it as the median, and trucks and cars were sliding off both sides about every half mile, and I didn't see a single plow or salt truck for about the first 2 hours of the trip.

I-95, on the other hand, is always plowed and salted very well through Maryland and Virginia, even during the heaviest snowfalls.

 

[GranddadTom]

The assumption seems to be that I-95is cloggedto the point of gridlock all the way from New England to Florida and I-81/I-77/I-26 is a clearshot. I came up I-26/I-77 yesterday returning fron WDW and I will tell you it was a rolling back up for 40 miles trying to get onto I-95 (which itself was a rolling backup 86 miles to the Georgia border). I have made the trip on I-81 many, many times and in the rain it can be very difficult. Lots of trucks and lots on hills. Think about one truck trying to pass another truck while both slow to 45 mph trying to get up those hills. Then add snow in the winter - yes it does snow on that road - and you'll wish you had stayed closer to the ocean.

 

[dizchick]

If you do decide on 95 the entire way, I would just try to hit DC at an off-peak time if you're traveling on a weekday. Like someone said above, it's not the Beltway(495) that's the problem, but the merge point and thereafter when 495 dumps back into 95. On weekdays in the afternoon and evening it can be backed up from Springfield (where they merge) all the way to Fredericksburg, VA. If you get past this area before 2pm, you should be ok. There are HOV lanes for those w/ 3 passenger or more and make sure you use them! There is an entrance ramp just past the 495 merge. There is still gridlock even after they are over, but it will save you time. I've found once you're past Fredericksburg, it's smooth sailing!

Richmond doesn't have much traffic at all, so I wouldn't worry about hitting rush hour there. But, like others have said, 295 around Richmond does have higher speed limits and is less twisty.

 

[NancyIL]

The OP called me Saturday afternoon after crossing the FL border, so she got there ok.