Guys Last minute decision. I booked a hotel in DC for Memorial Day weekend. Taking off tomorrow at 1 PM from Madison, NJ(Morris County) I will have my 6 year old twin boys with me and I want to avoid traffic as much as possible. My typical route to DC is I-95 South thru Baltimore but that route is busy even on quiet days. I can imagine how it will be tomorrow afternoon. Any alternative suggestions? Mapquest tells me I can take 78 West and take I-81 then I-83 and finally Route 15. You guys think this can be a better route on a busy day? Suggestions welcome.
try 895. It's a gamble either way. 895 will take you a little bit further around Baltimore and hooks back up with 95 about 20-30 miles down. Sometimes, it's better and sometimes it's not. :up: There is no way 78W can be any faster. Not to mention, that is one of the most boring roads to drive on with people taking their sweet time. 78W to 81 to 83 is a pain in the ass. It's only a 2 lane highway and you will get stuck behind trucks and people taking up both the lanes for miles. You get patches of open road, but for the most part there are a lot of trucks.
That route is swinging you out here by Me and that's has to be the really LONG way around. Your route takes you thru Harrisburg, PA, south and you pick up I-95 in Baltimore near the inner harbor tunnel. Do yourself a favor and take the train, then rent a car when you get where you're going. Once you're south of the Delaware Mem. Bridge, you're gonna catch holy hell travelling south on I-95. If you must drive, leave perhaps midnight on Sat morning and take your normal I-95 route.
That route is swinging you out here by Me and that's has to be the really LONG way around. That route takes you thru Harrisburg, PA, south thru York, PA and you pick up I-695 to go around B'more during the rush and you'll pick up I-95 south of town. Then its gonna be a long, slow, slog down I-95 to DC. Do yourself a favor and take the train, then rent a car when you get where you're going. Once you're south of the Delaware Mem. Bridge, you're gonna catch holy hell travelling south on I-95. If you must drive, leave perhaps midnight on Sat morning and take your normal I-95 route.
I am back from DC. Small update On Friday, we left home at 2:30 PM. We decided to take the NJ Turnpike-I95 combo like we usually do. My boys had their iPads fully charged so I was ready for a painful trip but it wasn't that bad. It was bumper to bumper up until Delaware Bridge. After the bridge a miracle happened and there was almost no traffic. It took us 7 hours total including a 30 minute dinner break at a diner.
