Calling All Road Scholars!
March 17, 2015 12:52 PM Subscribe
I'm trying to decide between two routes from Columbia, MD to Scranton, PA. Details inside.
I'm a road geek, and I very much enjoy almost everything about roads and driving. I track my travels using Clinched Highway Mapping, though the site hasn't been updated since November.
I'll be driving to Scranton, PA this Thursday afternoon, asI really want to attend the upcoming Dunder-Mifflin convention I mentor a robotics team that is competing in the FTC East Super Regional Competition.
Because of Work Commitments, I need to go in to the office (in Columbia, MD) on Thursday morning. More than likely, I will be unable to leave the office before 1 PM, though I've decided I'll leave directly for Scranton from there. I likely won't make it to my team's judging session in the late afternoon without getting at least one ticket for speeding and/or reckless driving. The team knows this, and I'm not expected until Friday morning. I do have a hotel room booked and pre-paid in Scranton from Thursday night through Sunday morning, so I would like to arrive in Scranton before too late on Thursday evening.
I'm trying to decide between two routes up there. One is I-83 to I-81. The other is I-95 to I-476.
Pros to the 83/81 route:
* No tolls.
* I'll be coming back this way anyway, as I live in Westminster, MD.
* It's shorter and will take less time.
Pros to the 95/476 route:
* I've never ever driven on the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike. I like new (to me) roads, and this would add to my clinched mileage.
* There's a tunnel on the Northeast Extension I'd like to drive through.
Cons to the 83/81 route:
* I've done it before, at least to Hershey and I-78, and I've done I-81 through all of Pennsylvania before, even if it WAS way back in the day, before PA switched to mileage-based exit numbering.
* It goes through the middle of East Bumfart Nowhere, and there aren't many places to stop and get a snack/meal that isn't fast food crap. At least on 95 and the Turnpike there are service plazas.
Cons to the 95/476 route:
* I hate I-95.
* Tolls, tolls, and more tolls. Although I know how to avoid the $8 Maryland toll by taking MD-24 to US-1 to MD-222, and how to avoid the $4 Delaware toll by taking MD-279 to DE-2 to DE-4 to DE-896, there's still the Turnpike toll and I'm on a bit of a shoestring budget this month.
* It's longer and will take a longer time.
* I-95 through Delaware is ALWAYS a clusterf&@$, in my experience.
So, HiveMind, what do you think? Do I blaze new ground on the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike, or stick with 83/81?
I'm a road geek, and I very much enjoy almost everything about roads and driving. I track my travels using Clinched Highway Mapping, though the site hasn't been updated since November.
I'll be driving to Scranton, PA this Thursday afternoon, as
Because of Work Commitments, I need to go in to the office (in Columbia, MD) on Thursday morning. More than likely, I will be unable to leave the office before 1 PM, though I've decided I'll leave directly for Scranton from there. I likely won't make it to my team's judging session in the late afternoon without getting at least one ticket for speeding and/or reckless driving. The team knows this, and I'm not expected until Friday morning. I do have a hotel room booked and pre-paid in Scranton from Thursday night through Sunday morning, so I would like to arrive in Scranton before too late on Thursday evening.
I'm trying to decide between two routes up there. One is I-83 to I-81. The other is I-95 to I-476.
Pros to the 83/81 route:
* No tolls.
* I'll be coming back this way anyway, as I live in Westminster, MD.
* It's shorter and will take less time.
Pros to the 95/476 route:
* I've never ever driven on the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike. I like new (to me) roads, and this would add to my clinched mileage.
* There's a tunnel on the Northeast Extension I'd like to drive through.
Cons to the 83/81 route:
* I've done it before, at least to Hershey and I-78, and I've done I-81 through all of Pennsylvania before, even if it WAS way back in the day, before PA switched to mileage-based exit numbering.
* It goes through the middle of East Bumfart Nowhere, and there aren't many places to stop and get a snack/meal that isn't fast food crap. At least on 95 and the Turnpike there are service plazas.
Cons to the 95/476 route:
* I hate I-95.
* Tolls, tolls, and more tolls. Although I know how to avoid the $8 Maryland toll by taking MD-24 to US-1 to MD-222, and how to avoid the $4 Delaware toll by taking MD-279 to DE-2 to DE-4 to DE-896, there's still the Turnpike toll and I'm on a bit of a shoestring budget this month.
* It's longer and will take a longer time.
* I-95 through Delaware is ALWAYS a clusterf&@$, in my experience.
So, HiveMind, what do you think? Do I blaze new ground on the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike, or stick with 83/81?
Best answer: The PA turnpike between Philadelphia and Allentown has been a terrible mess the handful of times I've driven it in the last few years.
posted by mchorn at 1:19 PM on March 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mchorn at 1:19 PM on March 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The other factor consider is weather - several years ago on this very day, my wife and I were trapped in Scranton/Wilks-Barre due to a blizzard. We're talking rigs laying on their sides by the road, people abandoning cars, hotel rooms full and people sleeping in the lobbies. Meanwhile, 95 was clear and moving.
If the weather is clear, though, stick with 83/81 and bring a sandwich. Delaware is a pit.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:19 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
If the weather is clear, though, stick with 83/81 and bring a sandwich. Delaware is a pit.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:19 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Lehigh Tunnel on the Northeast Extension is cool because it goes right through a big hill, but the road is under construction so you may end up sitting in very bad traffic.
81 is also undergoing lots of construction right around Scranton, so if you chose that route, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time.
posted by elvissa at 1:22 PM on March 17, 2015
81 is also undergoing lots of construction right around Scranton, so if you chose that route, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time.
posted by elvissa at 1:22 PM on March 17, 2015
The northeast extension of the PA turnpike (on 476) just finished a two lane addition (so it's now three lanes both ways) going north out of Plymouth Meeting for about 10 miles. Traffic has been greatly reduced as a result, but as you already know there's a ~$10 cash toll for traveling up to Scranton on it.
posted by dobi at 1:28 PM on March 17, 2015
posted by dobi at 1:28 PM on March 17, 2015
Best answer: If you go the 83/31 route, take 29 to I-70 to I-695 to I-83. Shorter and less irritating than taking I-95 to I-695 to I-83. Also, notice the cool old school signs around York, especially the guy lifting the barbell.
posted by carmicha at 2:00 PM on March 17, 2015
posted by carmicha at 2:00 PM on March 17, 2015
I hate driving the same roads twice if I can take a loop, so for me going up 95 and back down 81/83 would be a no-brainer, but I don't care that much about tolls. You seem to be planning to take all the toll-avoidance actions you can, which I think will make an already longer drive even longer. That said, I'd go with 81/83 if I were you.
posted by ubiquity at 2:03 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ubiquity at 2:03 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: carmicha, that is how I intended to get to 83. Haven't been through York on 83 in a while but I do know it's home to York Barbell Company (probably what you refer to) and Harley-Davidson.
posted by tckma at 2:03 PM on March 17, 2015
posted by tckma at 2:03 PM on March 17, 2015
Response by poster: Well, I wasn't meaning to avoid the toll on 476, as that road would sort of be the whole point of going that way.
posted by tckma at 2:04 PM on March 17, 2015
posted by tckma at 2:04 PM on March 17, 2015
Best answer: Keep an eye on the weather; there's 1-3" of snow forecast during the day on Friday for Harrisburg, but only a trace in the forecast for Philly. Storm timing can change this far out, and if the storm arrives early it might affect your decision. I would check the forecast on Thursday morning just to be sure, and take the route through Philadelphia if it looks like it's going to be nasty.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:14 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:14 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tckma at 12:57 PM on March 17, 2015