Driving Through WashDC, July 4 Weekend

[kidd_freeper]

We are driving straight to Jacksonville to spend a few days with relatives. Then to Kissimmee.

Thanks for your input.

I just bought a Garmin in-car navigation system with traffic monitoring.

I think I'll try I-95, knowing that there is a good plan 'B' available (Rte 301). I'll just have to monitor traffic once I get on the beltway.

And, according to Mapquest, plan 'B' only adds 19 minutes to the trip

 

[WorkJules]

Mapquest tells me that I will reach the Springfield Interchange (where the southern end of the I495 loop intersects with I95) at 7:30 am.

I live about 5 miles from the Springfield Interchange...and, it's really not that bad. Unfortunately, 95 south from there to Quantico (about 13 miles south) can be a real nightmare. Like a PP said, you can always hop over to Route 1 and go south for awhile and then just get back on 95. If I were you, I'd just test my luck and see how 95 is that early on a Saturday. If it's bad, you can easily get over to Route 1 at various points. And, if you're lucky and it's not too crowded, you'll move a lot quicker than on Route 1. Good Luck!

 

[kidd_freeper]

We left Hartford at 12:30am on July 3, as planned.
We made it to the Springfield interchange (south end of the DC beltway)at 6:30 am, half an hour earlier than planned.

Traffic was as heavy as possible while still going the speed limit, between DC and Fredricksburg. There was no stop and go traffic in this stretch.

So we made it to Fredricksburg and decided to have breakfast in a McDonalds. This was a mistake. Mcdonalds was packed. It took an hour to finish breakfast and our bathroom breaks. And when we got back on I95, it was just as packed as before, if not worse.

Heavy traffic persisted throughout all of Virginia and all of North Carolina, with the exception of the Richmond area, where it was a bit lighter. There was never any open road and cars were all spaced 2 seconds apart the whole time...it was rather remarkable that traffic could be so heavy for so long. Anyway when trafficis like that, it doesn't take much to cause a stoppage. There were several times when we had stop and go traffic, either because of an accident, or someone was changing a tire, or a truck slowed down while going up a hill. Our Garmin re-routed us once.

South Carolina and Georgia roads were fantastic. A real treat to drive.

We lost about 1 hour of time to traffic and 2 hours of time for food/gas/bathroom stops.

We drove 1100 miles from Hartford to Jacksonville and it took 19 hours.

Construction:
Merrit Parkway in Connecticut. Not a problem.

George Washington bridge: should be under construction, but its not. Worst potholes on the whole trip. Felt like I was driving in a third world country.

We took the east side of the DC beltway. One area of construction on the south end of the beltway. Was pretty tight at 6am...would definitely be a problem had traffic been heavier.

No more construction until Georgia. And the Georgia roads had two lanes open in areas of construction and thus it wasn't a problem.

All n all, a good trip. I81 might have taken just as long (assuming no traffic going that way). Kids were well behaved.

 

[Cmbar]

Kidd, Glad you made it through! Should have warned you about stoping to eat in that corridor. Never a good idea. We always have food in the car because my DH won't stop until Richmond if there is heavy traffic!


Hope you have a great trip!

 

[kidd_freeper]

Kidd, Glad you made it through! Should have warned you about stoping to eat in that corridor. Never a good idea. We always have food in the car because my DH won't stop until Richmond if there is heavy traffic!


Hope you have a great trip!

We would've had to stop for a bathroom break anyway. At that point we'd been on the road for over 7 hours without a stop.

Thanks for your advice earlier...I don't think we would have made it to Fredicksburg so smoothly if we had gotten to the Springfield interchange any later than we did.

BTW - traffic was pretty heavy in New Jersey too...at 3am! It was just a tough travel day all around.

To all:
I'd recommend the east side of the DC beltway. Lots of lanes and no construction.
Avoid the George Washington bridge in NYC. Horrible roads and its very easy to get lost.