ALL: Friday afternoon rush hours during the summer are the worst traffic of the year in Baltimore and DC! Gridlock can be found along at least 1/3 of I-695 around Baltimore, and along most of I-495 around DC. I-95 moves fairly well, but traffic is very heavy from about 5 miles north of Baltimore all the way through Maryland and doesn't lighten up till you're about 5-10 miles south of DC in Virginia. There are no viable alternative routes that will avoid traffic, unless you want to drive 100 miles out of your way to avoid the entire region.
My advice is, avoid I-695 from 3:30pm-6:30pm, and avoid I-495 from 3:30pm-7:30pm.
Thanks alot, that is what I was hoping would be the case. We'll be picking 270 up off of 70. I want to get south of Richmond at the very least on Friday, you have made me feel better.
Since you're coming from central PA, are you going to be coming down I-83 to I-695, around Baltimore to I-70? Or will you be taking I-81 to I-70?
If you're coming down I-83 to I-695 to I-70, adjust your departure time 1 hour later to miss the Baltimore traffic, and skip I-70/I-270 altogether. Stay on I-695 all the way to I-95. When you get to DC, take I-495 around the east side of town. After the rush hour is over you'll get through Baltimore and DC with no problems at all.
If you're taking I-81 to I-70 to I-270 to I-495, your departure time is fine; as long as you don't get into the I-270 corridor any earlier than 7:30, you shouldn't hit any major backups unless there is a major incident like a jacknifed truck or a multi-car pileup.
Next Friday, I will be visiting colleges in DC with my daughter. After her visits, we are planning on driving to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for the night. We will probably be leaving DC between 4:30 and 5:00. Any suggestions on the best way to avoid traffic problems?
Thanks for the information. One of my daughter's tours is scheduled for 2:30 at Georgetown, so getting out of DC earlier is not possible. I am hoping a lot of people will already be out of town for vacations. When you say traffic is "bad" do you mean it is slow or stopped?
Nope, even with lots of people out of town for vacations, summer traffic around DC on a Friday afternoon is gridlock from 3:30-7:00pm. Gridlock means that the streets and highways are full of cars, and traffic inches along; sections of I-495 barely move at all during the rush hour, and a drive of two miles can take over an hour.
My advice is to stay in DC for a few hours when the tour is over, have a nice dinner, visit the Mall, and wait for the rush hour traffic to dissipate. Leave DC no earlier than 6:30pm.
I'm not too familiar with surface streets inside the District, so a DC native will have to give you the best way to get across town, but once you're on the east side of DC, take MD 295 (inside the District it's the Annacostia Freeway, outside the District it's the Baltimore-Washington Parkway). MD 295 will bring you directly to Baltimore and become Russel Street. From the DC line, it will take you about 30 minutes to get to the Inner Harbor area.
Once MD 295 changes from freeway to Russel Street, you'll go about 1/2 mile and pass the football and baseball stadia. At the end of the baseball stadium, turn right on Pratt Street, which will take you the four blocks to Harborplace, which is the shopping center at the heart of the Inner Harbor.
If you need directions to a specific hotel, or recommendations on where to park, just let me know. I can also give you a few tips on things to see and do, and places to eat.
Do you have ressies at a particular hotel in the Inner Harbor? I highly recommend getting one, or you may not be able to find a reasonably-priced room. Although there are plenty of hotels in the area, they tend to book up during the summer months due to conventions, and without a ressie, you may find yourself driving all over town looking for a place to stay, and winding up way out of town at the airport or along the I-95 corridor (I speak from experience!)
