How much time to I need to get out of NYC on July 4?

July 2, 2019 7:26 AM

I would like to leave Brooklyn (Crown Heights) and head to Passaic, NJ on Thursday. This drive usually takes about an hour, and in rush hour takes about 1.5 hours (assuming Manhattan/Brooklyn bridges to Holland or Lincoln tunnels). How long will it take on July 4?

With lower Manhattan mostly closed, and the bridges sort of being out of commission, how long can I expect this to take on July 4? Usually, on national holidays, traffic is non-existent in the city, and my expected time goes down considerably. But I've never driven through the city on July 4.

I was hoping to leave at about 3 o'clock, at which point the entire usual path will have already been closed for an hour. Can I safely assume BQE>QMT>Lincoln Tunnel will be ok? Or BQE>SIE>Goethals?

Or am I just better off leaving at 1pm, and hoping that I can get through the city before the closures start?

posted by mhz to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (5 answers total)

seems like you could possibly get away with battery tunnel to west side highway to gwb, which is supposed to remain open according to this https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03215 , perhaps? I'd avoid BQE and east side of Manhattan if all those street closures are beginning at 2..
posted by elgee at 7:39 AM on July 2, 2019

My gut says that the Goethals would be an infinitely less crowded route than trying to go through the Manhattan tunnels on the 4th
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:12 AM on July 2, 2019

I'd probably go the Goethals route that Jon_Evil suggested and I think it'd be best to head away from Manhattan in any case. Most people who are leaving town for the long weekend will have already gone Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, so I don't expect traffic would be too much of a problem across the Verrazzano and Staten Island by 3pm.

Check traffic on Google Maps before leaving if you can. Maybe there's a chance Battery Tunnel > West Side Hwy > Lincoln Tunnel will be ok and you'd be able to take that shorter/cheaper route.
posted by theory at 9:02 AM on July 2, 2019

Staten Island for sure. There will be traffic approaching the Goethals, but there pretty much always is. Are you coming back the same night? That might be a bigger problem, since a lot of people who had the day off and went to the beach will need to get back into the city before work the next day.
posted by Ragged Richard at 10:01 AM on July 2, 2019

Response by poster: Ended up leaving at 2pm; south of the park to BQE to BBT to West Side Hwy to Lincoln Tunnel. Pulled into Trader Joe’s in Clifton 40 minutes after leaving.
posted by mhz at 1:47 PM on July 4, 2019