Is I-95 a nice road?

[cleblanc]

My husband and I will be sharing the driving from CT to Disney and I do not like very busy congested highways. Is 95 going to be bad? I was thinking about taking 81 or something. but of course I do not know what those roads are like either.

 

[shafke]

Avoid 95 through NYC if you can... no matter what time of day or night I95 thorugh The Bronx can be a nightmare. Other than that... if you can time your trip so that you can be past DC before rush hour you should be OK.

From reading other posts... most people will leave very early in the morning (2am or so) to ensure that they can miss rush hour. Even at this hour I would say there is a good chance getting stuck going through NYC.

 

[druidia]

When are you planning to leave? It will be closer to the end of your trip, but I-95 is slow in Jacksonville during weekly rush hour (7-9 AM). They are doing a lot of construction at the I-95/I-10 interchange in the middle of Jax right now. You could take I-295 around most of Jacksonville, but it can get backed up at rush hour, too.

If you are coming this week, there is A LOT of traffic on I-95 between Jax and when you pick up I-4 in Daytona because it's Bike Week.

 

[cleblanc]

We were planning on leaving Friday night around 5 pm and driving for about 4 or 5 hours and sleeping in new jersey. The next morning we were going to leave New Jersey around 5 or 6 am and drive to Savannah, GA. The third day we were going to leave Savannah around 8 or 9 am and drive to Disney.

 

[ducklite]

We were planning on leaving Friday night around 5 pm and driving for about 4 or 5 hours and sleeping in new jersey. The next morning we were going to leave New Jersey around 5 or 6 am and drive to Savannah, GA. The third day we were going to leave Savannah around 8 or 9 am and drive to Disney.

ACK!!!! NO NO NO!!!

Leave on a Saturday morning about 4:00am. You'll hit ZERO NONE NO NADDA ZILCH traffic! You will easily make it to South Carolina in time for dinner. Get a good nights sleep and finish the drive on Sunday.

Leaving at 5:00 on a Friday out of CT is an invitation for sitting for HOURS in traffic.

Anne

 

[solotraveler]

We were planning on leaving Friday night around 5 pm and driving for about 4 or 5 hours and sleeping in new jersey. The next morning we were going to leave New Jersey around 5 or 6 am and drive to Savannah, GA. The third day we were going to leave Savannah around 8 or 9 am and drive to Disney.

Not to mention that this will put you through DC in the heart of rush hour! I lived that for 25 years.... not pretty!

 

[LISAVWL]

ACK!!!! NO NO NO!!!

Leave on a Saturday morning about 4:00am. You'll hit ZERO NONE NO NADDA ZILCH traffic! You will easily make it to South Carolina in time for dinner. Get a good nights sleep and finish the drive on Sunday.

Leaving at 5:00 on a Friday out of CT is an invitation for sitting for HOURS in traffic.

Anne

I agree! I lived in Fairfield County, CT most of my life, I95 on Friday at 5PM is the worst palce to be! You'll be in horrible traffic the whole ride to NJ and then some! I would follow the PP advice and wait until early AM Sat.

 

[mmessler]

My husband and I will be sharing the driving from CT to Disney and I do not like very busy congested highways. Is 95 going to be bad? I was thinking about taking 81 or something. but of course I do not know what those roads are like either.

I would cut out the portion of I-95 that involves southern CT and most of NYC at any cost. It takes a lot of luck to avoid any congestion in these areas. I live in western Mass, and make several trips to NYC every summer, I always take 84 out of Hartford to 687 south to the Hutchinson River Pkway. Still involves some of NYC, but it's better. Taking 81 also might save you agravation, if not time.

 

[Robert P]

I've got to agree with ducklite on this one. CT traffic is some of the most unpredictable I have ever encountered. It's like asking the Magic 8-Ball "Will I get stuck in traffic", with the most likely answer being "all signs point to yes". Not that CT traffic is worse than other places, but it is highly unpredictable, and is just plain terrible in evening rush. I like the early Saturday a.m. idea, and getting to bed early the night before (rather than sitting in traffic).

The 81 option probably isn't a great idea either. From CT, it takes you way out of the way. We do the central NC drive to Mass. each year, and I have tried both routes multiple times. Only about 40 miles difference from central NC, but it would be FAR out of your way as a route from CT to WDW. And, you would still have to go through Charlotte traffic on I-77, which is growing more unpredictable each year.

Time your drive to avoid bad 'hours' at the major I-95 cities, and you'll be fine. Once you clear VA, Jacksonville (FL) should be your only big potential problem area before getting to Orlando.

Travel safe.
Robert P

 

[hobogary]

Try www.usastar.com/i95 and check out both the alternate routes section and the forums. Lots of good info there.

 

[areno79]

I agree with the other posters...you'll be MUCH better off leaving at 4AM Saturday morning. The traffic in NYC, DC and VA won't be that bad, and once you get through VA it's pretty easy sailing from there until Jacksonville.

 

[baileybelle]

When we drive from Maine, we take 84 in Ct to 81 in Scranton, Pa to 66 in Va to 17 in Va to 95 right near Fredricksburg, Va. We take the 295 routes around Richmond, Va and Jacksonville, Fl. This is known as the "Snowbird" route.

It takes us 23 hours driving time from southern Maine. We usually leave around midnight and drive to SC about 16 hours. The second day is easy with only about a 7 hour drive. We usually start out the second day around 5am. Arrive at WDW around 1pm.

 

[ducklite]

FYI, it took us almost seven hours from the Worcester area to Northern Central NJ (Edison area) back in July on a Saturday afternoon. We're glad we left as early as we did, because it was jsut getting heavier and heavier as the day went on.

It was just one traffic jam after another--all just volume.

Anne

 

[MEK]

Is I95 a nice road?

My quality of life would improve so much if I never had to venture onto that road again. I agree - don't leave on a Friday night. Leave early Sat morning.

 

[pbharris4]

If you can avoid D.C. rush hour traffic you'd be better off. Once you get to Fredericksburg, VA it's smooth sailing pretty much. NJ to Savannah is a long way. We usually drive from here in Fredericksburg, VA to Savannah or Brunswick (1 more hour south). I-95 is a straight shot. Watch for staties near the VA/NC border (I got caught once and have seen them there several times). Radar detectors are illegal in VA so if you have one, hide it while your in VA! Besides LA, NYC and DC are the 2 worst traffic areas in the country..avoid the rush hours. I suggest (like others have) to leave really early Saturday morning. HTH

 

[WillCAD]

Generally speaking, I-95 from Virginia north is big, congested, and mean. I drive the portions that go through Baltimore quite often, though I avoid the choke points and the ruch hours when I can.

Once you get past DC, I-95 the rest of the way to Daytona is a cake-walk. Oh, there are occasional spots with road construction or accidents that back things up like any other road, but aside from the short segment passing through Richmond and another short segment passing through Jacksonville, I-95 is pretty easy to drive through the southern states.

I will say this - no matter how you schedule, plan on going through DC either before 6am or after 8pm; the traffic during the morning and evening rush hours is unbelievable and must be avoided at all costs! Weekends are not so bad, since there is no real rush hour, but if you come through DC on Friday, avoid the rush hour like the plague!

 

[mmessler]

Is I95 a nice road?

My quality of life would improve so much if I never had to venture onto that road again. I agree - don't leave on a Friday night. Leave early Sat morning.

I was almost on reading your post. I usually will take almost any reasonable route to cut I-95 out of my trips. Yes, a weekend will most likely improve things, but the NYC portion will be a *** no matter what, unless it's in the overnight hours.

Good luck though, and have an awesome trip!

 

[keishashadow]

I was almost on reading your post. I usually will take almost any reasonable route to cut I-95 out of my trips. Yes, a weekend will most likely improve things, but the NYC portion will be a *** no matter what, unless it's in the overnight hours.

Good luck though, and have an awesome trip!

and the DC sector is a bear too!!!

To the OP: No, I-95 is NOT nice...it's a very bad road and should be punished severely.

enjoy your trip!

 

[jel0511]

I'm in Central NJ and leaving NJ at 5AM and getting to Savannah at a reasonable hour is practically impossible. Even though after you pass DC, 95 is pretty much a cake walk (coming from a born and bred NJ driver) it still gets congested for no apparent reason, because 95 reduces to 2 lanes after Richmond (I think). We've made it to Brunswick, GA by 6PM and other years have barely made it to Savannah, GA by 10PM. This is all leaving at the same time 3:30AM to avoid all DC traffic. I think your best bet is leaving early on Sat morning and taking the Tappan Zee around NYC, then Parkway to the Turnpike. Drive as far as you think you can that day. We now leave here around 8AM and stop overnight in Florence, SC. We're not exahausted from getting up so early and still miss a lot of DC traffic. Then leave SC around 6AM, to get to Orlando around 6PM.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My husband and I will be sharing the driving from CT to Disney and I do not like very busy congested highways. Is 95 going to be bad?

I think it's obvious to everyone you have no experience with driving I-95. It is HORRIBLE. Do whatever it takes to drive in the early am, at least through crowded areas.

These links might be of some use to you (be sure and be aware of construction times):

http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm

http://www.drivei95.com/