DC area travel

[sagebel]

We are planning on heading North for the holidays. Shortest route to our first stop is through Washington, DC on I95. I assume that traffic is is horrible for the commute. When is a good time to get through town and which way should I go?

Scott

 

[BJS]

from what I saw when I saw when I went through a few years ago it's rough traffic all day long I tried going through on a tuesday at around 3PM. traffic was snarled with nothing on the radio other than "standard" delays. Snarled being relative to what I was used to in commuter traffic in ATL.

I would imagine the traffic pattern in the DC/Baltimore metro area is very similar to that of ATL, it will be very heavy from 0700-0930 and and from 1500-1800, from 0930-1500 will be hit and miss but reasonably heavy. 1600-0500 should be clear sailing unless there is construction, special function, or random accident.

 

[kingkevindavid]

I drive the I-95 corridor all the time from Ma. to NC. Believe it or not DC is not that bad on I-95 because it basically skirts DC to the East. I usually like to hit the congested areas at night. If I travel during the week I usually drive overnight. If I drive on the weekends, it is during the day.

Are you planning on driving through Richmond, Va? If you do I recommend taking the I-295 loop around Richmond, it is a few extra miles but always clear sailing and the route through Richmond can be a little rough.

 

[kenholl]

Dude, here's an easy route!

From Waverly I-95 northbound (to I-26)
I-26 westbound (to I-77 @Columbia SC)
I-77 northbound (to I-81 @Wythville Va)
I-81 northbound - Hammer-down northbound as far north as you want to go, then turn right when you are ready!

It all depends on how far north you are going. If you calculate the milage to NYC for instance, you'll see that there is very little difference in miles, and far fewer trafic headaches!

This route will avoid every eastern seaboard big city nightmare, and you'll see a lot of beautiful country-side! This is a pretty common route in the trucking industry...

 

[kenholl]

Sagebel, since your first destination is near DC, you probably won't benefit that much by going thru Wytheville, Va. I ran the miles, and it adds 120mi (roughly 2hrs) to your trip.

Had you been going further north than WashDC, you certainly would have been served well to take that route. If you are continuing further north before you return home, you may consider taking I-81 on the return side.

 

[sagebel]

My first destination is Cortland, NY(central NY) then on to Western NY. My Street Atlas has me North on I-95 to I-83N. My only concern is the weather on the "scenic" parts of 81. We will be leaving here on Friday afternoon. The 95,26,77,81 route only adds 50 miles to the trip.

 

[kenholl]

Oh! Well, there you go then! The further north you go, the better I-81 gets for you! I would definitely take I-81, and stay the heck out of DC/Baltimore/Philly/NYC! Even at 50 extra miles, you will easily save time/stress/money by cruising down the road!

I wouldn't worry too much about the weather. I've never encountered any weather on that route that I didn't also see on I-95. You will see your highest altitude around Wytheville, which is a little over 2000ft, then it's down hill from there. Obviously any winter weather would hit I-81 before hitting I-95, so it might be a timing thing. Just check the weather map before you leave home!

Happy trails!

 

[sagebel]

Thanks. We have always just headed striaight for Buffalo so we have been using 77 to 79 through Pittsburgh. This will be a new route for us.

 

[Russ]

Biggest thing I remember about driving around DC was. Forget the speed limits, THEY DRIVE FAST around DC. Even saw a raod sign that said something like "Maintain the flow of traffic". I saw it of a nice way of saying get your butt moving.

 

[kenholl]

Thanks. We have always just headed striaight for Buffalo so we have been using 77 to 79 through Pittsburgh. This will be a new route for us.

I think you will like this route. I-81 is a lot less trecherous (curves/mountains) than I-77, and will take you straight to Cortland! I have to admit, I-77 is beautiful thru WV!

Be safe!