I95 or I81?

[jeff968]

I can't believe that two strong opinions exist out there on whether or not you should travel south to Florida via I95 or I81 (to bypass the DC traffic). We are heading down on a Saturday in July from CT. I can leave early if necessary. When I've asked numerous people about whether to travel down I-95 for the entire ride or take I-81 I get a 50/50 split with some saying the traffic is SO BAD in the Washington area they always take I-81 (to I-77, down to I-95 in SC). Others say it is not so bad so just take I-95 and avoid the extra miles for a I-81 trip. What to do??? I appreciate the additional opinions.
Thanks

 

[Smile&Nod]

I live in the DC/Northern VA area and from here we always take 95 - it is not fun - however, that being said, youngest daughter went to Virginia Tech so we had about 200 miles several times a year on 81. 81 in a lot of ways is less stressful however....there are a lot more trucks driving on 81. If you get caught in an accident backup on 81 there are not many alternatives - it seems with 95 you have more choices...good luck either way!

 

[disneydad1000]

Hi there, we do this trip every year from Albany NY(6 years in a row this coming Aug) I've done both ,if you can get through DC between 4-6 am on a Saturday its not too bad....but we prefer to go the less stressfull route which is 81 to 66 east to 17 towards Warrenton and that will lead you to Fredericksburg Va onto 95.Our lives are stressfull enough so for the 90 extra miles of driving is priceless for us...Besides we are able to take 3 weeks off for our vacation so we take our time...dont know if this helps you out any...Have a greet vacation!!!!

 

[disneydad1000]

*great vacation*

 

[jasko5990]

We live just outside Philadelphia, Pa and have driven numerous times. The I-95 route is much shorter for us than the I-81 side trip. We took an side trip once that was shorter (mileage) than the I-81/I-77 route, and it added about 2-1/2 hours to our travel time. This was on state routes, not interstates, where the speed limit was usually 45-55 mph with no traffic. After that experience I-95 will always be our primary route. Even if we're slowed on I-95 in D.C traffic for an hour (which has never happened to us) I'm still not as delayed as I was with the side trip. I will say that the scenery along that route is nicer than I-95, but since I'm not looking at the scenery much since I'm driving that's not a deciding factor for me. If you decide on taking I-95 I do agree that you should time your departure so you get through D.C. before 6:00 am. We usually leave around midnight, sail through D.C. around 3:00 am, and don't hit any traffic along our route until we're on I-4 between Universal & WDW around 3:30 pm.

 

[Lavaluma]

It all depends on what day and time you'll be driving through the area. I'm from Northern Virginia. I can tell you traffic getting around the DC/Baltimore areas can be awful. We choose which way we'll travel based on the time of day we're leaving. For example, on our last trip to NYC, we left around noon on a weekday. We drove 95 N without hitting much traffic. When we left NYC in the afternoon, we realized we'd be driving through DC in rush hour so we went the longer way around to 81 and back around. The longer distance was still much quicker than hitting rush hour coming back 95. Generally, 95 isn't too bad as long as you don't hit the Baltimore/DC area between 5-10 am or 2:30-7:30 pm on a weekday.

Another thing to take into consideration is tolls. I'm not aware of any tolls on 81, but you'll pay tolls on 95 through New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

As Smile&Nod said, 81 does have more tractor trailers on it, I hate driving on 81 on Sundays. Also, if there's an accident, you'll wait a long time without many places to bail out.
Unfortunately, there's no way to predict which way will be the better way. Good luck with your choice and have a safe trip.

 

[HeatherC]

We have driven from the Sturbridge, Mass. area to Hilton Head twice in the past year and are planning another drive next month.

Last summer we took the 81 route and LOVED it! It wa nothing like driving on95. We left at 3am on an Friday morning and only hit a little rush hour traffic in the evening in Charlotte....which was fine because we did an overnight stop there anyway.

It is a gorgeous ride through the mountains in Virginia. No tolls, but there are a lot of tractor trailers. BUT...they are polite. Much less stressful driving than 95. We did the same route coming home and hit no traffic. We kept checking the Google map traffic on our phone, and 95 was "red" all the way from before Richmond into New England. Our route was "green" all the way.
We drove straight through because it was so easy. Had we gone 95' we wouldhave sat literally for hours.

This past Feb. we took 95 down. Hit traffic from the Delaware bridge through south of Richmond and the same thing coming home. We went down on a Thursday and home on a Sunday. Didn't matter...traffic traffic traffic.

We realized that 81 is the way for us to go and will drive that way next month.

For our two trips it wound up being alot shorter because of all the traffic on
95.
It may be a little longer mileage wise, but in time and sanity saving, there was no comparison.

I might consider 95 only if I was driving through the middle of the night. But then they have construction delays.

Hope this helps!

Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[Diegosmom]

I drive NC to Mass (Springfield area) often and I always take 95...usually because I am either travelling alone with my son or the other adult I am with will sleep on and off and to me it is much easier to go 95 the entire way...no need to watch signs etc and I know that way.

I have hit DC traffic a few times...but not very often...when do I usually hit traffic...well anytime between 3pm and 7pm (on weekdays) and I have hit trafiic before in baltimore...mainly on football sundays when we are driving thur right before the game or right after...or for a baseball game (I always check the schedule now lol). And for some reason I hit traffic in Deleware alot (usually half the time)...I think they had been doing construction for a while (like years) but the last few times we have had no problems...

If you are leaving CT at say 4am you would be getting to DC around (9 or 10am) (FYI takes me 6 hours from Belchertown, MA so not sure where you are in CT)...you wont hit traffic from people going to work but not sure if there is weekend traffic.

I did an alternate route once (not sure if it was 81 or not) and it took us way longer...(like 15 hours compared to like 11 or 12) and I remember hitting places with lights and hitting some bad 5pm traffic (on a weekday)...

 

[kidd_freeper]

We drove from Hartford to Jacksonville in 2010 on July 3 (a Saturday).

We left at 12:30 am. Had no problems getting past DC...we cleared it by 6:30 am.


The problem was the beach traffic. From Fredericksburg south, all the way to the NC/SC border we encountered EXTREMELY heavy volume. It went 65 mph most of the time, but both lanes were in use with every car two car length behind the one in front of it. No gaps at all...it was rather remarkable. Very nerve wracking for a very long time.

And when someone had to stop to change a flat, or pee on the side of the road, traffic backed up horribly. Our GPS detoured us around at least two snares. Nevertheless, traffic delays added at least 90 minutes to the trip.

So you can plan to avoid the DC traffic, but you cannot avoid weekend beach traffic.

We will be taking I81 this July. We hope that the extra hour of driving will be made up by avoiding the time otherwise spent in I95 backups.

 

[Talinthor]

I've done the drive from NJ several times. We always take 95 through DC. Oddly enough, I haven't had much of an issue with rush hour traffic on the Beltway (though I do try and avoid it). I have hit delays in Northern Virginia due to volume.

Over the last few years, the biggest delays for me have come from construction. I've hit DC around midnight on a weekend once and they had closed 3 of 4 lanes so I got to sit there for an hour or so as we all tried in vain to alternate merge. This also happend on the way back in Delaware once too at around 2am.

I guess I choose 95 because it's more direct though you do roll the dice in the DC area. I haven't serioiusly considered 81 because it looks so much longer on the map. But I have thought about taking 13 down through the Delmarva peninsula for more of a scenic route. Anyway, good luck with your trip.

Tal

 

[jeff968]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I guess I'll decide the week before I leave.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have always found I95 through N VA to be a nightmare. However, I-81 has a reputation for being a very dangerous road (just do a Google search), so take your pick.

 

[MulanMom]

I can't believe that two strong opinions exist out there on whether or not you should travel south to Florida via I95 or I81 (to bypass the DC traffic). We are heading down on a Saturday in July from CT. I can leave early if necessary. When I've asked numerous people about whether to travel down I-95 for the entire ride or take I-81 I get a 50/50 split with some saying the traffic is SO BAD in the Washington area they always take I-81 (to I-77, down to I-95 in SC). Others say it is not so bad so just take I-95 and avoid the extra miles for a I-81 trip. What to do??? I appreciate the additional opinions.
Thanks

We will be driving back from Orlando in July. Departing on a Friday, so we figure we'll be on the road both Friday and Saturday. From our experiences traveling to and from NC beaches each summer, we will do anything to avoid I95. It's no fun to drive when it's so congested. When it's moving, you can fluctuate from 75-80, to 45mph, to a complete stop...and anywhere in between. You can't relax at all and must always be on your guard. On a Saturday or Sunday, traveling back from NC...I can't tell you the last time we were able to make the drive all the way through without stopping. It seems like the congestion is getting worse. Often starting down around Richmond. Traffic seems to move when getting close to the DC beltway. We often then shoot up 270 to rt. 15 into PA then I81 and 78 to the Lehigh Valley...so I can't comment on I95 north of DC.

That being said, when we do use I95, we usually will drive south and through DC after 8pm. Traffic can still be heavy but it moves. Coming north on 95, we are usually hitting I95 in NC around noon-1pm. Don't know if it's any better earlier. We have hit it later after 8pm and it's been okay.

Now that I'm thinking about it...I'm wondering if we should drive straight through on 95 for the return trip as we would be hitting those major areas later at night. Hmmmmm.....

Hope this gives you some further insight.

 

[Fwd Facing Tentacles]

We have done both routes multiple times but we would not go back to 95. For us it's not even a question of traffic, although that is a big advantage. We just find that 81/77/26 is a much more pleasant drive. The ride through the Shenandoah mountains in VA is beautiful. It's about 100 miles longer for us (from northern NJ) but my guess is time wise it's about the same. The only thing I can think of that would make me think twice would be a bad winter storm but I probably wouldn't want to be on 95 in that case either.

 

[luv2sewtjr]

We live in south central PA and drive to Hilton Head every year. It is 16 miles longer to take I81. The time ends up being about the same.

There are a LOT of parts of 81 where the speed limit goes up and down in Virginia; it's very easy to get a ticket if you aren't paying attention. And if you don't like driving in the mountains, it might not be for you (my family in Ohio doesn't like mountain driving so much).

More trucks on 81, but 95 moves faster. If I'm driving solo with the kids, I take 81. If I have another driver (not one of my teens, lol), I'm more likely to consider 95.