Leaving in one month - construction on I-81, I-64, I-95

[Mickeydad]

We're driving down in 30 days.

Our route - we will bypass NY, NJ & DC by going from CT on I-84 to Scranton, PA. We pick up I-81 and then cross back over to I-95 near Roanoke, VA on I-64.

Anyone go this way (or any part thereof) recently. Any construction we need to be aware of??

Thanks in advance for your help!

Mickeydad

 

[mudnuri]

I have not been this route lately- last time was a year ago..however, I wonder why it is your going this way? Is it just to bypass the cities? you can use the outer loops for that.

To me, it is a VERY boring route...some people find the amount of truck traffic to be intimidating...truckers use this route as it's "flatter"...I personally dont care about the trucks, I would rather 'run with them' but I know some people fear them.

Just curious why your going this way, and bumping this up for you.

There also is no time savings..it's actually longer than straight through 95

Brandy

 

[Mickeydad]

I'm going this way to avoid any problems in NY, NJ & DC.

Mickeydad

 

[mudnuri]

What time are you planning on leaving CT? You could time it right to not hit much traffic at any of those 3 places. I recently got my triptix from AAA and it has us going around NYC someway I've never seen LOL...we're driving down from VT, and have done the 95 route 3 times, and your suggested way twice, once through to florida, and the other to Harrisburg, PA....

To me, getting out of NYC, and DC are not worth the extra time it takes to go the long way. but again- some people prefer it..my parents ONLY went the way you are...

I hope you find the info, I have not heard of any websites such as www.usstar.com that has the info for I-95 on it.

If I come across one, I'll post it for you.

Brandy

 

[Mickeydad]

which way did AAA triptix tell you to drive around NYC & DC?

Mickeydad

 

[mryder]

Mickeydad, you will be passing right through my neck of the woods. There is no construction from the Scranton area until Hershey PA that I know off. Not sure of any farther south though.

Not sure when you are passing through, but the traffic is heavy sometimes between Wilkes-Barre PA and Scranton PA on 81. Other than that no much until you get near Harrisburg. There is a lot of truck traffic in this area.

 

[Jacksmom99]

Mickeydad, how long do you expect your drive time to be? I'm asking because we drive every year and use the route AAA gives us. We bypass NYC by taking the Tappen Zee, and take 295 around Richmond, VA. We are completely fed up with I95 in CT however. The last 2 years we left at night and hit construction almost all the way down 95 in CT and on the approach to the Tappen Zee bridge. It was also frustrating on the trip home to be stuck in traffic on a Sunday afternoon in CT when we were soooo close to being home. We were thinking about taking the Mass Pike this year and then heading into CT that way. Any thoughts? The Mass Pike is out of our way as we live in SE Mass near RI.

Any info would be appreciated!!

 

[mudnuri]

when I map both ways out the 84-81 is about 6 hours longer...you can hop on 84 in Hartford- and bypass the rest of CT and NY by doing what is stated below..

AAA shows us doing the following, which we've never done, I've just stayed on 95 all the way..

I'll try to make this clear as I can ...

I91 to I84
Follow I84 to I684

From here it gets sticky according to these maps...somehow- we end up Garden State Parkway in NJ,,and follow this south back to 95, the NJ TPK.

In DC, we do the 495 loop outside of DC..we usually go south/east...or merge to the left LOL

In Richmond, we stay right on 95, and dont bother with the 295, as its quite a big loop...unless of course it just happens to be 5pm on a Friday LOL

Here's the construction from my trip tix, that I received last week so its pretty upto date...remember this is 95..

between exit 8A and 8 on NJTPK...

around exit 45 in Virginia

Close to the VA/NC State line

between exit 138 and 121 in NC. (just south of Rocky Mount)

Just south of exit 77 in SC

between 58 and 49 in GA (near Darien, GA)

between 318 and 211 Florida- (St. Augustine)
Exit 289- Palm Coast.
between 116 and 114 - near Lake Helen.

Hope this helps someone..

 

[capegirl]

We're driving from Mass. in about 4 weeks. We have always left at 4am on the weekend to avoid NYC traffic, and have never had a problem staying on I 95 over the George Washington bridge. This time however, we have to leave on a weekday, so it will be an entirely different story. If we leave Mass at 4am we will arrive in NY around 8am in time for the big morning commute. I know AAA says to take the Tappan Zee bridge, will this be a big time saver, or will we still be up to our eyeballs in traffic?
The DC area is another concern. How can we avoid this? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

[Jacksmom99]

Thank you mudnuri!

I was looking at the I84 to I684 route on the map last night, I'm going to ask DH what he thinks (since he's the main driver). I should add that we always leave on a Thursday, and have only used the 295 rte. around Richmond b/c it was during the commuting hours. On the Sunday drive home, we head straight through. We always go "left" around DC too.

capegirl:
I've been on the George Washington in rush hour, aviod it at all costs!!!! There will be some traffic in CT and around the Tappen Zee, but most should be headed in the other direction once you actually get to the bridge.

 

[capegirl]

Jacksmom99,

Thanks for the info...Tapan Zee for us!!!

 

[Snowysmom]

This past summer we drove from Mass to Florida and left at 4 am on a Friday morning. We went over the Tappan Zee bridge and had no traffic problems at all. Traffic was all going the other way. The place where we had traffic problems was just past DC into Northern Virginia. Other than that, the trip was fine. We followed the AAA triptik.