I95 From 495 to Richmond - Advice??

[PSUGuy]

The last few times we headed South from Pa in our car we made great time until we left the DC loop and hit I95. From there there were periods when we crawled, and we never saw an accident or any construction, this at times from as early as 4 pm and as late as 11 pm. Is this the norm for this stretch or are we just unlucky? FWIW, the last time at 4pm was on a Fri but we usually do this Tue or Wed night later with similar results. Is there a 'secret' detour around this?

Thanks in advance,
Bill From PA

 

[DVC-Don]

I've tried detouring to US 1, but that's just as bad only with stop lights thrown in.

 

[grimley1968]

Is there some reason you have to get on the 495 loop? The reason I ask is that Wilkes-Barre seems like it's far enough from DC that you could take a route that goes straighter into DC.

495 always seems to suck, and I've never understood why. Even when I lived in DC for 4 years I tried my best to avoid it, even on weekends, and I knew ALL the traffic patterns then.

If you are going during a non-rush hour time, 395 isn't all that bad, and avoids 495 because it turns into 95 once it crosses the 495 loop south of DC. Unfortunately, 395 doesn't completely traverse DC. But you can get to it pretty easily from the Baltimore-Washington Expressway (295), or Highway 1.

If you are hitting DC anytime close to a rush hour, though, 495 isn't really any worse than any other road in the DC area. Non-interstate roads in Northern VA tend to be light-filled, congested and confusing, at least during rush hours. During non rush hours, those lights will slow you down versus just staying on an interstate road.

Sorry, but DC just hasn't figured out a decent traffic setup. And it's hard to completely bypass DC on an interstate unless you stay on I-81 from Pa. then take 64 east from Staunton to Richmond, but this is an extreme variance from 95 just to avoid some traffic.

DC is a bottleneck in the worst way.

 

[OKW Lover]

On our two drives to FL (October 2012 and March 2013), we drove that stretch of road about Noon - 1:00 pm and didn't have a problem. However, both of those trips were on a Sunday, which may make a difference.

 

[HoosierDisneyDad]

I wish I knew of a secret detour. I've been stuck in long traffic jams on I95 on Saturday mornings, and the one time I switched to US-1 it was no faster. At least at 4pm on a weekday if you have 3 or more people in the car you can use the southbound HOV lanes, which are usually faster than the main lanes.

 

[sharadoc]

We have found the best times to hit that area are after 9 am through 1 pm during the week. Fridays and Saturdays are never good in the summer because of Virginia Beach traffic, bu winter weekends have been fine. Last summer we left home on Monday at 9 am, hit DC around 11:30 and breezed through.

Never, never, never take 495 west, the "east" loop looks longer but is usually better.

Where to you hit 95 normally? Have you tried the Harrisburg to 81 way? You can take that to 66 and cut over below Richmond. DVCZerfs can give you a ton of options to cut over to 95 below DC, below Richmond, into the Carolinas - he's done every option. Hopefully he will chime in for you.

 

[PSUGuy]

Is there some reason you have to get on the 495 loop? The reason I ask is that Wilkes-Barre seems like it's far enough from DC that you could take a route that goes straighter into DC.

Strangely, I495 hasn't been the problem the last few times. We were heading for a Hampton's in Fayetteville as our first stop last month and I felt sure that if we got to the bottom of the loop by 4 pm we'd be home free. We got there exactly at 4, no problem with the loop, but we slowed to a crawl shortly after hitting I95, we got to Fayetteville 90 mins later than we should have.

Thanks to all for advice given.

Bill From PA

 

[grimley1968]

Strangely, I495 hasn't been the problem the last few times. We were heading for a Hampton's in Fayetteville as our first stop last month and I felt sure that if we got to the bottom of the loop by 4 pm we'd be home free. We got there exactly at 4, no problem with the loop, but we slowed to a crawl shortly after hitting I95, we got to Fayetteville 90 mins later than we should have.

Thanks to all for advice given.

Bill From PA

That makes perfect sense (staying on 95 to get to a pre-planned place in Fayetteville).

Like others have mentioned, I wish there was a better alternative to I-95 to get through DC. However, traffic on I-95 south of DC is very much dependent on rush hours (unlike the beltway which can crawl at 3 in the morning on a Saturday). I-95 can crawl all the way down to Woodbridge or even further during rush hours. If you can time it so that you get to the beltway and I-95 sometime at least 2 hours removed from any rush hours, you should move faster. 4 PM is pretty close to rush hour, at least on a Friday in DC. 3 PM might be better, or 7:30/8 PM as well. But if there is any kind of accident or construction, all bets are off.

DC is one of those places where road planning/construction has never caught up with population growth.

 

[PSUGuy]

Where to you hit 95 normally? Have you tried the Harrisburg to 81 way? You can take that to 66 and cut over below Richmond. DVCZerfs can give you a ton of options to cut over to 95 below DC, below Richmond, into the Carolinas - he's done every option. Hopefully he will chime in for you.

All the map/direction sites and our 2 GPS units choose one of 2 routes to the Beltway. One sends us past Gettysburg, through MD and on to 270 I believe which hits 495. The other goes 81 to 83 to 695 to 95 to 495 and on to 95 south were we run into a snarl. Years ago I tried a route that went through WV eventually hitting 95 farther down but that was too round about.

Bill From PA

 

[GrnMtnMan]

What about I-81 to I-77 in VA to I-26 in SC to I-95 in SC. According to Google maps, that route is just 20 minutes/40 mile longer.

The only time you can reliably get around the beltway/move at speed in the DC-Richmond corridor without a major backup is basically in the overnight hours. Any other time you can hit DC commuter/business traffic, or east-coast traveler traffic. When I drive south, I usually leave around 5 AM to be south of Richmond before 8 AM.

 

[sharadoc]

All the map/direction sites and our 2 GPS units choose one of 2 routes to the Beltway. One sends us past Gettysburg, through MD and on to 270 I believe which hits 495. The other goes 81 to 83 to 695 to 95 to 495 and on to 95 south were we run into a snarl. Years ago I tried a route that went through WV eventually hitting 95 farther down but that was too round about.

Bill From PA

That's why we don't do it, seems like too much extra time and miles. If we add 2 hours to our trip to avoid 95, then sitting in traffic for an hour and a half is still less LOL.

 

[kwdw]

Avoid dc on a weekday between 6:30 and 9 am and then again between 3pm and 8 pm. Should be okay unless there is an accident. Midday and evenings on weekends can also be bad, before before 11 am on weekends is usually fine