Question on 81/77 Route from NJ/Philly

[thlarock]

Hi all,

Planning a trip from south Jersey/Philly area and would like to try the 81/77 route but when I go to use the map apps it has that option but seems to still have me on I95 up until Virginia. Does that sound right? I thought the advantage of this route is to avoid all that 95 travel to there. Anyone know the best way to get me to I81 from Philly area while not spending much time on 95?

Thanks - Tom

 

[Ross Kratter]

I would stick to 95; it's a lot more direct. As long as you're not hitting DC at rush hour, you should be in the clear.

 

[goofybob]

I agree, stick with 95. avoid DC at rush hours and Richmond Va.

 

[Jimsig]

The I-81/I-77 route is a good option if you are coming from further north like New England and northern NJ. Not so good from southern NJ/Philly as it's more difficult to get to in decent time to actually save any time compared to 95. From the north it helps you to avoid NYC, the NJTP, and DC area and adds up to more opportunity for time savings. Where you are you have already avoided NYC and the NJTP. As others have said if you avoid rush hour in DC it should be a good drive. In Richmond you have the option of taking 295 around it.

 

[Mikey15]

I suppose you could always drive down DelMarVa if you really wanted to avoid DC, but it nominally adds about an hour to do so.

 

[easyas123]

Could drive down Rt. 1 and down Delmarva and over the Bay Bridge Tunnel into VA Beach area, then head to Richmond. Driving down the eastern Shore of VA is a bit tedious, and depending on what day of week it is you could be in shore traffic thru DE & MD a bit.
Or you could take whatever bridge over from NJ you are taking, grab Rt 1 south and continue on down 301 south, over the Bay Bridge and continue down the western shore on 301 south, again dumping you out just above Richmond.

 

[thlarock]

Could drive down Rt. 1 and down Delmarva and over the Bay Bridge Tunnel into VA Beach area, then head to Richmond. Driving down the eastern Shore of VA is a bit tedious, and depending on what day of week it is you could be in shore traffic thru DE & MD a bit.
Or you could take whatever bridge over from NJ you are taking, grab Rt 1 south and continue on down 301 south, over the Bay Bridge and continue down the western shore on 301 south, again dumping you out just above Richmond.

If I was going over the Delaware Memorial Bridge from NJ - would that be what you are suggesting in your second option? Would that avoid the mess of DC traffic?

 

[easyas123]

If I was going over the Delaware Memorial Bridge from NJ - would that be what you are suggesting in your second option? Would that avoid the mess of DC traffic?

Delaware Memorial Bridge, or one of the bridges in Philly, take 95 South to Rt. 1 (or if De Memorial Bridge, I think it might be 13 S that dumps you onto Rt. 1 South) and then take Rt. 1 down to just over the C&D canal bridge and take 301 South all the way across the Bay Bridge and on down south.

 

[AlexCalWil]

We took the 301 route from NJ the last two trips south. Google never shows it as faster but it’s def less stressful.

 

[Stratman50th]

We used to live in MD near Baltimore and drove down to Florida a lot. Going 81 is an alternative but way out of your way. I also hated DC/VA traffic. So much in fact that I took 301 all the way to 95. There is some stop and go between Waldorf and LaPlata but once you clear that it's over the Potomac bridge (Harry Nice-toll) and clear sailing on good road. Same road but changes name to 207. Meets 95 in Rutgers Glenn. Lots of gas stations and truck stops. Don't know about today, but it used to be the cheapest gas around. Anyway, you enter 95 one exit north of King's Dominion.

 

[thlarock]

We used to live in MD near Baltimore and drove down to Florida a lot. Going 81 is an alternative but way out of your way. I also hated DC/VA traffic. So much in fact that I took 301 all the way to 95. There is some stop and go between Waldorf and LaPlata but once you clear that it's over the Potomac bridge (Harry Nice-toll) and clear sailing on good road. Same road but changes name to 207. Meets 95 in Rutgers Glenn. Lots of gas stations and truck stops. Don't know about today, but it used to be the cheapest gas around. Anyway, you enter 95 one exit north of King's Dominion.

Yeah not sure what I could do to avoid the traffic. Could go over DE memorial bridge but then not sure where to go from there.

 

[thlarock]

We took the 301 route from NJ the last two trips south. Google never shows it as faster but it’s def less stressful.

How do you get to 301 from Jersey?

 

[ncc1701]

How do you get to 301 from Jersey?

My parents used it a couple of times to go to Williamsburg from South Jersey. After going over the Delaware Memorial Bridge you go on Rt 13 then get on Rt. 301. Map quest or Google Maps are your friends to at least get an idea.

 

[dvczerfs]

Your to far south, I would stick to I95. 81/77 is good if you live north of I78 / I80..

 

[Jimsig]

How do you get to 301 from Jersey?

Here it is on Google Maps. I started it in Havre De Grace but you of course will be on 95. It shows it as only being about 20 min longer then going via DC, but that's with no traffic.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hav...3fb!2m2!1d-76.091617!2d39.5492792!1m0!3e0!5i1
I have it connecting to I-295 to go around Richmond but you can also take 207 near Bowling Green to get back to 95 to either go through Richmond or 295 around it

Hope it helps