Driving from DC to upstate NY for Labor Day.

August 25, 2005 11:00 AM

Driving from DC to upstate NY for Labor Day.

I'll be driving from the Washington, DC metro area to the Adirondacks in upstate New York on Friday, September 2 for the holiday weekend. I'd like to reduce my time in traffic if at all possible. I'm not able to leave Thurday evening, but will likely be on the road by around 3pm.

I am planning on taking I95 to the NJ Turnpike to 87/Northway. An alternate route involves getting off 95 at Trenton, NJ and taking 202 to 287 to 87.

I have several questions:

1. which areas are the most troublesome for traffic?
2. is the alternate route described above worth it? Are there other alternate routes that will save time overall if there is traffic?
3. which radio stations along the route provide the best traffic reports?
4. which websites provide the best webcams for the DC area, and other areas along the route?
5. any other comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

posted by cahlers to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

The only other alternate route I'd suggest is taking I-295 after you cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge, rather than getting on the Jersey Turnpike immediately. There's usually less traffic, and you save some money. 295 takes you up to 195 in the Trenton area, and you can take 195 back over to the Turnpike or pick a different route from there. The Southern part of the Turnpike is good to avoid because it gets a high volume but is only two lanes each direction.

As far as traffic websites, I suggest Trafficland for the DC area (lotsa webcams). Traffic.com doesn't have cams, but has good traffic reports from Baltimore, New York, etc. The NJ Turnpike website has cams for various points along that road.

HTH.
posted by cerebus19 at 11:09 AM on August 25, 2005

I second taking I-295 in NJ. Also sometimes getting off of the Turnpike onto 287 can be helpful if you're going north.

For traffic in the DC area, use WTOP: 1500 AM, 107.7 FM, and 820 AM (they all work better in different places of the DC area, but they're identical). They have all the traffic cams in the DC and Baltimore area in addition to traffic reports online.

NYC area, listen to 1010 AM WINS. I can't recall the good Philly area stations.

There's also a route that avoids 95 totally for getting to NY and points north that some people swear by. So if you really want to avoid traffic, that might be a good choice. I think if there's light to medium traffic, going through NJ will be faster, but this might be easier. Dr Gridlock at the Wash Post tends to have it a lot in his columns (pasted below the impoartant part since wash post requires reg):

How do I avoid I-95 on the way to New York or Boston?

"From east of Washington, take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695) north and get off at Interstate 83 north to Harrisburg, Pa., then pick up Interstate 81 north. From west of Washington, take Interstate 270 (or Route 15) north to Frederick, then Route 15 to Harrisburg, then Route 581 east to I-83 north to I-81 north."

From I-81 north, you'll probably either want to take I-88 East or go up to I-90 East (toll) or something else, depending on exactly where you're going. This route might be a good starting point to try something different.
posted by skynxnex at 11:22 AM on August 25, 2005

For the Jersey/Thruway portion:

1. In New Jersey, you'll hit traffic on the Turnpike close to the cities, particularly Edison/New Brunswick and New York City. A lot of it depends on the time of day. 87 South is very crowded on Sunday afternoons after, say, 3 p.m. as folks like you head home.

2. 287 is a great way to get to the Thruway, although I'm not there often enough to know the traffic situation (things get very busy around Morristown, NJ). Another decent alternate is to switch from the Turnpike to the Garden State Parkway and take that up to 287/87, traffic pending.

3. This was covered a few days ago: 101.5 FM in New Jersey, 1010 WINS and 880 WCBS AM for metro New York.
posted by werty at 11:27 AM on August 25, 2005

You are in for a tough ride if you are leaving DC at 3pm on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. You must reconsider your depature time. If you cannot leave Thursday night, perhaps Friday night after rush hour might be better.

Your current departure time is a sure thing for adding two to three hours to your trip.

FYI, I am transplanted NY'er living in DC. This is a trip I have made many times (well not going as far as upstate NY), and making this trip on any Friday or Saturday during the daytime can be brutal as far as traffic is concerned.

Don't do it. I say this because I care.
posted by poppo at 11:43 AM on August 25, 2005

Of course, skynxnex's suggestion maybe viable for you.
posted by poppo at 11:44 AM on August 25, 2005

Philly station is KYW 1060. Every 10 min. (on the 2s) with traffic.

Scukyll expressway is 76, vine street is 676...and 95 is...well 95.
posted by filmgeek at 11:46 AM on August 25, 2005

The Harrisburg route, mentioned above, is not too bad. I think it adds close to an hour to the trip, but on a busy weekend, it might be worth it. You'll skip the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which often sucks.

I also agree with the suggestion to use I-295 instead of the Turnpike. It's generally quite a nice ride. You could take it all the way up to Princeton and get on 206 from Princeton up to I-287. That's not much slower, because it is more northerly, but it does involve traffic lights.

If you're on I-287, you will run into problems around I-80 and Route 17. There will be problems again when Route 17 intersects I-87 in New York. But from the Harrisburg route, you could make your approach to New York using I-84, and that might be better.

I guess I recommend this Harrisburg approach. It's not usually better, but on a holiday weekend, it probably is. The longer you can wait before getting on I-287 and I-87, the better off you'll be.
posted by landtuna at 12:23 PM on August 25, 2005

I agree with poppo. If at all humanly possible, leave on Thursday night. I am an NJ transplant living down here in MD as well, so I know this drive well. You do not want to be on the road during rush hour anywhere on your route. If you must leave on Friday, do it well after rush hour.

I have never had a bad experience with 295. In fact, I never take the Turnpike anymore. You might even be able to pick up 202 from 295. But don't quote me on that - I always get my 202s and 206s confused. On preview - it's 206, not 202. Thanks landtuna!
posted by MsVader at 12:42 PM on August 25, 2005

If you are headed to the western Adirondacks (e.g., Old Forge, Inlet, etc.) you might be better off avoiding the Northway entirely and finding your way up from a point further west, like Utica. I-87 can be just as bad as I-95 at peak hours.
posted by gnomeloaf at 1:18 PM on August 25, 2005