I-95: Is Maryland/Virginia still a traffic nightmare?

[melanie18]

We drove to & from Hilton Head this summer and I-95 was a complete nightmare both ways in Virginia. It made a 12 hour drive into a 15 hour drive. Is it still a complete mess?

We leave for WDW in 2 weeks and are thinking of going PA Turnpike to I-81 and take that to I-26 which eventually hooks back up with I-95. I know it adds almost 2 hours to the trip from central NJ, but it's gotta be better than the traffic in Virginia!

Any advice from recent travelers?

melanie

 

[heidiboo]

I live in Richmond, VA and we never go anywhere up north! It's a headache no matter what day or time of day! It is too many cars on the road! Good luck with however you choose to reroute but I prefer to keep moving instead of sitting on 95 in a "parking lot"!

 

[Iamthequeen]

We live in PA and drove to Florida in September. We left home at 4 am and had absolutely no trouble in Maryland or Virginia on 95. We were in North Carolina in time for breakfast. Even on the trip home, traffic in Virginia was not too bad on a Sunday afternoon. I think it really depends on the time of day that you travel through the area.

 

[BC1836]

Indeed, it remains nightmare.

Our 34th drive to WDW since 2002 (we are the founders of the "For 2,000+ Mile Round Trip Drivers Only!" thread) included a drive south through that section on Thursday night. It was horrible, and as an added "bonus" an accident slowed us down for an additional hour as we made one mile of travel. That's right: one mile in one hour. Then further down I-95 in VA, crews were putting up new road signs, which closed lanes. Ugh!

All the best.

 

[melanie18]

Yikes. Sounds like things haven't improved. I would also prefer to keep moving instead of sitting in traffic, even if it means adding an hour or two. I've also been looking into going Route 1 and 13 in Delaware and going over the Chesapeake bay bridge. Not sure how much of a nightmare that way would be and how much more time it would take.

 

[Divslp]

I'm a maryland resident and the 95 isn't that bad during off-peak hours (in the Baltimore area at least), unless there is an accident or other incident.

 

[gratefulfred]

You could try 95 to Delaware then 301 through Delaware, Maryland, and into Virginia where you can get back on 95 well below Washington. It is longer but the last time I went that way I Didn't stop for traffic (just some lights).

 

[houseofduck]

Yikes. Sounds like things haven't improved. I would also prefer to keep moving instead of sitting in traffic, even if it means adding an hour or two. I've also been looking into going Route 1 and 13 in Delaware and going over the Chesapeake bay bridge. Not sure how much of a nightmare that way would be and how much more time it would take.

Are you talking about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia or the Bay Bridge in Maryland? If it's the one in Virginia, that way is usually better (traffic wise) because not many people want to pay the $12.50 toll. If it is the one in Maryland, you won't really be avoiding anything unless you go at off-peak times.

 

[edbo77]

We live in PA and drove to Florida in September. We left home at 4 am and had absolutely no trouble in Maryland or Virginia on 95. We were in North Carolina in time for breakfast. Even on the trip home, traffic in Virginia was not too bad on a Sunday afternoon. I think it really depends on the time of day that you travel through the area.

Yup, all depends on what tine you're going through there. Coming down from Mass, we'll leave here around 4P so we miss NYC/Baltimore/DC traffic. Find a place in VA to crash for the night, then back on the road by 7A.

 

[PlutoPony]

We drove to & from Hilton Head this summer and I-95 was a complete nightmare both ways in Virginia.

Did you hit it on a Saturday morning going down? Weekends are known around here as a nightmare with people going down to the beaches - especially to the Outer Banks area. Typically the worst is from DC south to Fredericksburg or Richmond.

If you can hit the DC area on off peak times I95 should be the fastest route (unless there's rain or snow involved).

 

[melanie18]

Did you hit it on a Saturday morning going down? Weekends are known around here as a nightmare with people going down to the beaches - especially to the Outer Banks area. Typically the worst is from DC south to Fredericksburg or Richmond.

If you can hit the DC area on off peak times I95 should be the fastest route (unless there's rain or snow involved).

Yes, we did hit that area on a Saturday and I think we left NJ at 5am so we were in that area probably around 9-10am. My father in law drives for a living and he's even said that the traffic in that area is worse than usual. He ended up taking I-81 back home last time.

I'm thinking we're going to leave between 4am-5am for this next trip. I'll have to look into the 301 route. We would hop on and off it when we were stuck while on our way to Hilton Head.

 

[LBIJim]

You could try 95 to Delaware then 301 through Delaware, Maryland, and into Virginia where you can get back on 95 well below Washington. It is longer but the last time I went that way I Didn't stop for traffic (just some lights).

This is the route I'm planning to take later this week. I've never had a problem with it and hopefully my good luck will continue.

 

[msb578]

I'll be one to recommend the I-81 route. Others have warned about trucks, but in my limited experience, it was a great route. The Charlotte area can be slow, but we did hit it at rush hour.