Driving the Inland route to the NE via I-81 trip report and warning

[BigTigger]

I used to take I-95 the whole way from central MA to Disney, but due to lots of positive discussion on taking the inland route to/from the northeast and how it avoids the endless construction on I-95 from Richmond to NJ, I gave the inland route a second try overall and a first try going northbound. The southbound part was pretty easy as we did the drive overnight and were into the Carolinas by breakfast time. There was a truck incident on I-81 in SE PA but due to the late hour we got past it with only a slowdown. The great part of this route is not I-81, bit the I-77 to I-26 to I-95 in SC to I-4 in FL part as those roads move well and have more than two lanes in each direction for many stretches. Going down the trip was 1428 miles and took 21.5 hours total with 20 hours on the road and the rest being pit stops and stretch breaks. Gas prices for regular unleaded ranged from $2.579 in SC (any of the Flying J service plazas) to $2.889 in WV and FL. All in all I'd give the southbound trip an A- grade. I would definitely recommend the overnight drive through the northern stretch as the traffic is a lot lighter than doing it during the day as we did late last summer.

The return trip started out well and was also a breeze until we hit I-81 in the Blue Ridge mountains of VA. We left at 4 am Sunday and had reached I-81 at 1:20 pm which is just about the halfway point of the trip. Once we got on I-81 this changed. The weather was rainy and the truck traffic very heavy so the going was very slow and the trucks really block up the road on the hills as they just won't pull over and yield as they slowdown thanks to gravity. The minor construction on I-81 was not a factor in the traffic issues. The road is just overloaded during the day. VA does have an incident line you can get updates at by dialing 511. It was helpful when an accident near I-64 West had the road stopped. We got off to eat and took the Blue Ridge parkway north for a bit to avoid this stopped stretch. We finally got out of the heavy and slow traffic near the WV border and the trip was uneventful until PA. We then hit a dead stop at the MD/PA border and after quite awhile a local radio station gave a traffic report that told of a truck accident way up by exit 5 in PA that had slowed the road to a crawl. We reversed course at the next exit and backtracked to I-70 E and took that over to I-95 to avoid the stoppage. All in all, I'd give the same advice on I-81 heading north and that is to not travel it during daylight hours due to the road being over capacity and needing expansion. The northward trip took 23 hours total with 22 on the road and was 1534 miles total due to the backtracking and re-routing in PA and MD.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Wow! What detail! Thanks a lot for a very useful report!

- MMM, daily driver of Route 81 (though all in NY)

 

[helenk]

We use I-81 when we take my daughter to college in VA. The truck traffic is always horrid, and when they have an accident it blocks all the lanes, and just makes for a huge dealy.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

... All in all, I'd give the same advice on I-81 heading north and that is to not travel it during daylight hours due to the road being over capacity and needing expansion ...

The problem is, I-81 was designed for 15% truck traffic but trucks make up between 20-40% of the traffic.

Expansion of I-81 has been discussed at great length, but no decision has been made whether to have some sort of rail system to alleviate the truck traffic or expand the highway, and how to pay for it. The possibility of tolls (definitely for trucks and possibly for cars as well) has been mentioned. How soon and to what extent anything may happen is anyone's guess.

 

[Henlady]

We used to use I-81 > I-77 > 26 > 95 on a fairly regular basis when we drove down to Fl. However on our trip in October '05 the I-81 part of the trip was horrible(added to the fact that our AutoTrain southbound trip was cancelled due to Hurricane Wilma). There was soooo much truck traffic and several accidents that it took about 1 1/2 hours longer for that part of the trip. We were constantly "backed up" and traveling at about 25/30 mph. Even though I dislike I-95, whenever driving we will probably use that route instead of I-81. I-81 used to be a joy to travel before all the trucks started using it.

Kris

 

[Robert P]

We use the 81 route for our trips going North, and based on current location in NC, now only use 77-26-95 for going South.
We drive the long trips at night, and (knock on wood) have never had problems with 81 traffic during the overnight drives. We have had some daytime delays on return trips, twice around Roanoke, but other than that, for us 81 beats stopping for toll booths every hour or so, when taking 95 and the turnpike(s).

Truck traffic on 81 is pretty bad at times, especially bunching up near the mountains. And I understand that the trucks that can't pull the hills make for some 'interesting' traffic situations, but all things considered, I would take the 81 drive with professional truck drivers.

If everything else were equal, I would probably still vote for the 81 route going North to Mass., if only to avoid the beating the car takes going across the GW bridge!

 

[agnes!]

I-81 truck traffic...what a nightmare. We used to travel from Dc to the Roanoke area quite regularly a few years ago & the trucks seemed to be much heavier on I-81 than 95.

agnes!