From Birmingham to Orlando, which route?

[NotUrsula]

I'm going to be driving from STL, but due to the timing I have to work with, I prefer not to take the route via Chatanooga and Atlanta. (I don't want to cross Monteagle late at night or in the early morning fog, and that choice has the bonus of avoiding Chattanooga/Atlanta traffic.)

I plan to overnight in either Birmingham or Montgomery, then continue on. It looks like I have a choice of taking US280 out of Birmingham through Columbus to pick up I-75 at around Cordele,
OR continuing south on I-65 to Montgomery, then cutting down on US231 via Dothan to I-10, and east from there to I-75.

For anyone familiar with the trip from the Birmingham area, which is the best route? I can't get a good feel of how much stop and go there is on US280, and if it is four-lane all the way.

Thanks.

 

[wiserabbit]

280 traffic can be a major headache - lots of red lights and congestion until you get past Chelsea - after that you've got multiple small towns and changing speed limits -

Our favorite way is 65-S to 231-S (Dothan) - then take 84-E out of Dothan to Thomasville GA - then 19-S into FL and hit I-10 - I know it sounds convoluted - but to us the drive is easy (you will run into some congestion around Montgomery and then again in Dothan if your timing is around normal rush hours) but the drive is relatively easy and for us - when you hit I-10 past Tallahassee - it seems like a "chunk" of that leg of the trip is shorter

Hope your trip is a great one!

 

[NotUrsula]

I looked at 84 East, and again, I can't get a good feel for how much stop-and-go there is on that route. Is it really time-equal to taking US231 straight down to I-10 and then east, or is it just less boring?

I grew up on the Gulf Coast, and for years my brother was stationed at Eglin AFB in Ft. Walton. Back then the route across the Panhandle was US90, which was very slow, but breathtaking -- beachfront almost all the way. I-10 is just so dull by comparison.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

231 has its share of stop & go as well. We use that route going to Panama City Beach. FWIW, we've run into fairly heavy traffic in both Montgomery and Birmingham as well when we've timed it wrong - Birmingham in particular.

 

[wiserabbit]

NotUrsula - I think it's about the same time-wise - and yep to me just less boring (the less time spent on I-10 the better ). The 84-E is 4 lanes (if memory serves) and then 2 lanes on 19-S but that is through mostly countryside with little to no traffic and speed limit of 55 or so.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yeah, I have family in Birmingham, and traffic can be hairy there. Luckily, this time it shouldn't be an issue; as I'll be going through town after 9 pm on a Thursday night. I'll overnight on the southern side of Birmingham and leave there about 9 am. I've got to be careful re: the timing, because I have to pick up my DH and DS16 from MCO on Friday night at about 10.

Airfares were obscenely high for this trip, but I have extra vacation time I can use, and my DD6 is off school longer than her brother, so she and I are driving, while the boys fly down. We will all drive home together, so I only have to do the southbound drive solo.. Thus, my preference to avoid both Monteagle and Atlanta going southbound; I'm trying to keep the drive as low-stress as possible. Going home we will go via Atlanta/Chattanooga, but we'll have 3 drivers then.