SPRING BREAK DRIVING--I-75 thru GA or I-65 thru AL?

[firecracker]

For the third year in a row, we're driving to FL from northern IN for Spring Break. It appears that at least half of the norther part of the US will be driving to FL with us!!! Except this migration to FL gets crazy when you hit I-75 in GA...last year we were stopped for 6 hours due to an accident (thank God it wasn't us) and construction.

Would we be wise to consider I-65 thru AL to I-10 in northern FL? Have any of you done this? Will it add time to our drive? Right now, going I-65 to I-75 should take 18-19 hours, but last year it was almost 24!

I'd love to hear some opinions!

Thanks, Carmen--trying to avoid on Spring Break!!!

 

[ohiomom28]

I try to avoid 75 in Georgia at all costs. Driving from Ohio, I will usually head east towards the Carolinas and am only in Georgia for a short while. So, if I were you, I would go through Alabama, if it doesn't take too much time.

 

[firecracker]

bumping since I know there have to be some drivers out there! We've followed you to FL the last two years!

However, the lack of response would help explain the lack of Dings/good fares to FL...all you drivers have decided to FLY!!!

Any help/advice appreciated!

Carmen

 

[umaangel00]

I'd like to know too. We are going down April 23-29 and we are leaving Michigan on the 21st.

 

[jeffreyml]

We must have been traveling at the same time.

We were on our way home last year and there was an accident on I-75 in Georgia. We decided to gas up and eat dinner to waste some time. The accident ended up being 1/2 mile ahead of us. The odd thing was I was talking to an elderly man in the gas station and he was directly behind the vehicles and saw the whole thing happen. He waited 6 hrs to get from the accident to the intersection less than a quarter mile away.

I can't think of any better way to get down to Florida than I-80 to I-57 to I-24 to 75 south. The last 2 spring breaks we ran into traffic in Florida, tons of mobile homes towing cars behind but we still managed to make great time even with the delays. 20-21 hrs with meal and rest/gas stops.

Someties it's just better to pull over and wait for the traffic to subside.

Were heading back down this March for Spring break and plan on driving again.

 

[firecracker]

freetrip.com tells me that it's 11 hours 5 min. to Montgomery, AL and 7 hours 20 min. from Mont. to Orlando. freetrip also tells me that it's 17:05 from my house to Orlando going the I-65/24/75 route. So were presumably adding an hour and 25 minutes to the trip. Worth the risk to avoid the traffic and accidents on 75, we think. So we're going to give it a try! We're leaving Friday, 3/31 by 5pm and driving straight through, hoping to arrive by 2pm on Sat. 4/1.

Good luck to the rest of you who also wanted to know this! And, really good luck to those going 75 with rest of the states of IN, IL, OH, and MI for spring break!!!

 

[simzac]

I would only advise going thru Atlanta around 2am. Any other times, I would go thru Alabama, you will get there quicker even though the trip is longer.

 

[clkelley]

The only problem with going I-65 is that I-65 doesn't go all the way to I-10 in a direct route. You have to go US 231 through Troy, Dothan, etc after Montgomery. Many miles of Red Lights, 20 mph traffic, etc. (Going to Mobile is waaaay too far out of the way, unless you purposely want to stop at Gulf Shores for a day).

While 65 is not as congested as I-75, I still think I-75 is better designed to handle more traffic. Atlanta is only bad if you go through it between 6am and 9am or 4pm and 7pm. Also if you are shooting straight through and have at least two people you can sit in the high occupancy lane and roll on through.

Carol

 

[firecracker]

I'm really not concerned about Atlanta...our traffic problems are always between Macon and the FL line. I AM concerned about the lights and speed restrictions on 231 in AL. I think I'll look into that a bit more carefully before we change our route....

Thanks! Any others have thoughts on this topic?

 

[kydisneyfans]

I have already seen a slight bump in I75 traffic here in KY--it really seemed to start last Friday. I can tell by number of papers sold (USA Today)along the highway-as I am in charge of a 130 mile stretch of I75-or the southern 2/3 of the state.

In my travels I have noticed mobile homes towing cars (and boats at the same time) heading north, and alot of out of state license plates heading south, especially Michigan.

I 75 through KY is a smooth shot really, with traffic heavy on Friday afternoons and Sundays.