DC beltway traffic on a Saturday

[pamjb]

My friend and her family are driving to WDW. They are leaving Saturday, June 13 from Allentown, PA (about 60 miles north of Philly). Are they going to have problems with beltway traffic on a Saturday, or will they be ok?

 

[GranddadTom]

It's not the Beltway that will be a problem. That should be okay. It's Rt. 95 in Northern Virginia that will be a problem - a big problem. On Saturday mornings in the summertime most of Washington heads south on Rt. 95 heading for the Virginia and North Carolina beaches (the rest head East to the Maryland and Delaware beaches) and Rt. 95 becomes a parking lot all the way to Richmond. If your friend can get out of bed early and be on the road by 5:00 am, she should get through there before things get too bad.

 

[princessjane]

As a Lifelong Virginian, I have to agree with the other poster. Beltway, not a problem. I-95 Virginia can be problematic. What time will you be driving through?

 

[buzz5985]

It's not the Beltway that will be a problem. That should be okay. It's Rt. 95 in Northern Virginia that will be a problem - a big problem. On Saturday mornings in the summertime most of Washington heads south on Rt. 95 heading for the Virginia and North Carolina beaches (the rest head East to the Maryland and Delaware beaches) and Rt. 95 becomes a parking lot all the way to Richmond. If your friend can get out of bed early and be on the road by 5:00 am, she should get through there before things get too bad.

It's not just the weekends. I've been through there during the week and same thing. Drives me insane. FRom Boston - Orlando - the only place I hit traffic. LOL But last trip I had a GPS and saw a sign for Dunkin' Donuts on - Route 1?? - runs parallel to 95, can't drive 70 mph, but at least I wasn't standing still. We were very excited to see this Dunkin' Donuts.

 

[pamjb]

She is shooting for a 6 am leave from here, but she is traveling with her 17 year old triplet daughters' and her DH who tends to "dawdle". I understand the beach traffic. We have similar traffic situations between Philly and the Jersey Shore.

 

[princessjane]

Route 1 on the weekends is not bad, weekdays? UGH. Just as bad as I-95. Traffic is insane in Northern Virginia. I'm glad When I lived up there that I was 2 miles from a Metro station.

Here's a link to I-95 Exit guide and alternate routes. I'm not sure where you would get on but personally if I was hitting DC on the Weekend, I'd take my chances at that time in the morning. It may be a little slow and lots of trucks but unless there's a serious accident, I'd say you will be OK at that time of day.

http://www.i95exitguide.com/alternateroutes/baltimore-washington-alternative.php

 

[erinch]

have they thought about checking out the autotrain? saves a lot of wear and tear and stress, and amtrak is currently running a special fare for kids 15 and under

 

[pamjb]

They don't mind driving. When her DH retired from the Army they did a cross country drive from Seattle to Allentown. Took them 45 days. Now that is family togetherness......