Toll Roads that you have Shunpiked

[Avalanchez71]

Name those roads you have shunpiked and the alternative.

Florida's Turnpike (SR 91)
Shunpiked using either US 441 or US 27 when going north to Wildwood.  I-95 going up on I-95 anyway. 

Alligator Alley I-75 former (SR 84)
Shunpiked using either US 41 to the south for points south or US 27 to SR 80 for points north.

Has anyone tried using the unpaved canal access road to the Indian Reservation?

[Max Rockatansky]

I almost always sunpiked Florida's Turnpike via US 27 or US 441.  441 was actually pretty convenient for me given I lived in east Orlando.  It was the cost with the Turnpike, it was the boredom factor. 

[JayhawkCO]

The only one I can think of that I've specifically chosen a different route that was slower just to avoid a toll is the extremely expensive per mile E-470.  If it were priced similar to the Kansas Turnpike, I would take it far more often.  Spend $1.50 to save 10 minutes?  Sure.  Spend $13 to save 10 minutes?  Hell no.

Chris

[sprjus4]

VA-168 in Chesapeake, VA.

I've driven on VA-168 Business Battlefield Blvd far more than the toll road, which I've only taken a few times. It only saves a couple minutes, only a few miles long, and is not worth the now $4 toll - $9 during peak weekends!

Usually on long distance trips to/from the Outer Banks and then a couple times when time was essential.

[SEWIGuy]

Oh I have taken all sorts of roads and highways to and from the Chicago area to avoid the various toll roads. 

[jmacswimmer]

I presume anyone who has the Florida toll transponder has "Sunpiked" 

Anyways, the low-hanging fruit: Delaware Turnpike, avoided via MD/DE 279, DE 4, DE 896 (I've also tried MD 279, Iron Hill Rd, W Chestnut Hill Rd, DE 896 a few times lately to avoid the ongoing DE 279 construction).

Also the Dulles Greenway via VA 7 & 28, which isn't even significantly slower anymore courtesy of (almost) all signalized intersections being replaced with interchanges along that stretch of VA 7.

Finally this technically isn't a shunpike since a toll is still involved, but by turning left off US 301 NB at the last Maryland intersection, following Sassafras Road to MD 282/DE 299, and reentering the US 301 toll road at exit 2 in Delaware, you only pay $1 at the ramp gantry with E-ZPass instead of $4 at the mainline gantry. (The toll structure is clearly designed to keep rates low for locals and capture most revenue from out-of-state traffic.)

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I shunned the Kansas Turnpike on US 24 (and the short piece of US 75 to get back to I-70) because I didn't have cash with me and wasn't sure if they took cards

[JoePCool14]

Sure, I've sunpiked more than a few times in my life. I've also cloudpiked, rainpiked, stormpiked, windpiked, and snowpiked.

[webny99]

I haven't done a lot of active shunpiking, unless you count taking NY 31 and/or NY 104 as an alternate to the Thruway between Rochester and Niagara Falls.

There was also one occasion where I used a section of US 20 to bypass an accident on the Thruway west of Buffalo.

[sprjus4]

Would sitting in 15-30 minutes worth of traffic on the I-95 South general purpose lanes leaving Northern Virginia and not paying the $30 HO/T lane toll to bypass it be considering shunpiking?

[vdeane]

The southern end of Florida's Turnpike, mainly because it's all electronic and E-ZPass isn't interoperable with SunPass.  US 1 is a slog, though, I really don't recommend it as a shunpike route.  Just pay the toll there unless you're like me and don't do bill by mail.

I also "shunpiked" the NB barrier toll on I-295 coming off the Maine Turnpike by structuring my clinching to hit that one going southbound and clinching the Maine Turnpike Approach Road in the (free for cash and out of state users) EB direction.  I also hit Falmouth in the WB direction in that trip - basically I specifically structured it to hit the "special" barriers in the direction that would be tolled regardless of whether they're special or not, with the exception of I-295 SB at exit 103, where it basically acts as an alternative to the mainline barrier (and thus isn't as egregious with respect to transponder discrimination in my mind).

I've occasionally structured trips around the NYC area to reduce toll costs, but those are balanced out by other trips where I didn't, so I'm not counting them.

Would sitting in 15-30 minutes worth of traffic on the I-95 South general purpose lanes leaving Northern Virginia and not paying the $30 HO/T lane toll to bypass it be considering shunpiking?

Possibly.  If it does, that time I exited the HOT lanes because I assumed the high toll was only due to the regular backups at the southern merge (which was either not yet extended a mile south or only recently was) as the general lanes were moving at the time.  This is single-handedly one of the biggest mistakes I've made on a roadtrip in my entire life.

[NWI_Irish96]

Last trip to DC we took I-68/I-79 to avoid the PA Turnpike, but honestly, that was more to clinch new miles of interstate rather than to avoid tolls.

[GaryV]

Indiana Toll Road: IN 120 (My wife's folks lived near Sturgis, and they commonly went down to Howe and turned east or west, instead of getting on the Toll Road.)
Ohio Turnpike: OH 2
Penn Turnpike, Breezewood to Bedford: US 30 - we were going up toward Altoona anyway, and since they made us get off the freeway, why bother getting back on?
Maine Turnpike: US 1 (since they make it so convenient to get to US 1 from the Welcome Center / Rest Area)

A long time ago, when my family was going to Disney, my dad shunpiked some of the Florida Turnpike using US 27 and US 192.  Lovely drive through the orange groves.

[hbelkins]

There are several ways to shunpike the WV Turnpike between Charleston and Beckley. Many years ago, I intentionally drove the parallel route from Cabin Creek to Beckley just for the heck of it. You have to use the freeway to cross the mountain where Memorial Tunnel was, but you can avoid the Cabin Creek toll plaza. On my most recent trip to the area, I used the county road between Pax and Mossy to shunpike.

I'm looking for a good shunpike route for a possible upcoming trip between the Kanawha Valley and Beckley/Princeton, since my E-ZPass is now registered exclusively to my Vue  since WV no longer allows you to move transponders between vehicles and I'd be driving a different vehicle.

Most all the former Kentucky toll roads had alternate routes available, but they weren't the best quality in some cases. Back when the tolls were on the Hal Rogers Parkway, I'd much rather pay them than have to drive KY 80 between Hazard and London. My dad hated paying the tolls on the Mountain Parkway, so he most often used KY 11/KY 15 between Slade and Stanton instead of paying the quarter to enter or exit the turnpike at Slade. If we went to Winchester, we often used KY 52 and KY 89 through Irvine.

When I went to the 50th anniversary Sideling Hill/Ray's Hill bypass meet a few years ago, I completely avoided the PA Turnpike. I had taken the new US 219 north out of Maryland, so I used PA 31 and US 30 between Somerset and Breezewood. On all my trips between Breezewood (where I stayed) and Bedford (the meet's launching point) I used US 30, as I also did when I departed and used US 30 to access US 220 south.

I can't think of anything else I've actively shunpiked, but I know that avoiding the toll on I-95 in Delaware is something of a very common move for lots of people here.

[formulanone]

Name those roads you have shunpiked and the alternative.

Has anyone tried using the unpaved canal access road to the Indian Reservation?

I've been tempted to try it; there appear to be some dirt two-tracks that are on private property. It would definitely have to be during dry season and with some decent ground clearance.

I've driven along CR 523 from US 441 and US 192 to bypass a decent amount of the Turnpike between Okeechobee and St. Cloud, and it's quite scenic too.

I can't think of too many others right now.

[Avalanchez71]

Name those roads you have shunpiked and the alternative.

Has anyone tried using the unpaved canal access road to the Indian Reservation?

I've been tempted to try it; there appear to be some dirt two-tracks that are on private property. It would definitely have to be during dry season and with some decent ground clearance.

I've driven along CR 523 from US 441 and US 192 to bypass a decent amount of the Turnpike between Okeechobee and St. Cloud, and it's quite scenic too.

I can't think of too many others right now.

I was looking at the Google images and I saw a picture that someone took of his family and family car with no ground clearance about half way through.  I see some of those day use and access areas on Google images as well on the access road.  It looks doable. 

[Avalanchez71]

There are several ways to shunpike the WV Turnpike between Charleston and Beckley. Many years ago, I intentionally drove the parallel route from Cabin Creek to Beckley just for the heck of it. You have to use the freeway to cross the mountain where Memorial Tunnel was, but you can avoid the Cabin Creek toll plaza. On my most recent trip to the area, I used the county road between Pax and Mossy to shunpike.

I'm looking for a good shunpike route for a possible upcoming trip between the Kanawha Valley and Beckley/Princeton, since my E-ZPass is now registered exclusively to my Vue  since WV no longer allows you to move transponders between vehicles and I'd be driving a different vehicle.

Most all the former Kentucky toll roads had alternate routes available, but they weren't the best quality in some cases. Back when the tolls were on the Hal Rogers Parkway, I'd much rather pay them than have to drive KY 80 between Hazard and London. My dad hated paying the tolls on the Mountain Parkway, so he most often used KY 11/KY 15 between Slade and Stanton instead of paying the quarter to enter or exit the turnpike at Slade. If we went to Winchester, we often used KY 52 and KY 89 through Irvine.

When I went to the 50th anniversary Sideling Hill/Ray's Hill bypass meet a few years ago, I completely avoided the PA Turnpike. I had taken the new US 219 north out of Maryland, so I used PA 31 and US 30 between Somerset and Breezewood. On all my trips between Breezewood (where I stayed) and Bedford (the meet's launching point) I used US 30, as I also did when I departed and used US 30 to access US 220 south.

I can't think of anything else I've actively shunpiked, but I know that avoiding the toll on I-95 in Delaware is something of a very common move for lots of people here.

I remember using US 68 to KY 80 in lieu of the Cumberland Parkway to Somerset.  It wasn't bad at all.  Now that the toll is removed no need to shunpike.

[Roadgeekteen]

I've been on I-95 through Philly to US 1 before it was completed in lieu of the NJ Turnpike
I-90 through Albany instead of the Berkshire Connector

[doorknob60]

There's no toll roads around where I live, and when I visit the east coast areas where they're common, I haven't shunpiked. If anything, it feels like I stick to the toll roads a lot. When I'm traveling, a few dollars in tolls is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of hotels, flights, car rentals, etc, and the saved time is usually worth it. And if anything else, I like seeing the roads too. Visiting Orlando in particular I used the toll expressways whenever it was a fast route, even though there were at times reasonable alternatives. Also have used Mass Pike, NJTP, PA Turnpike, and the DE US-301 toll road, and never considered shunpiking any of them.

The closest thing I have is when I visit Trout Lake, WA, I can either take the Hood River toll bridge which is a $2 toll, or use US-197 which is free. Coming from the east, I almost always take 197. But Google says 197 is about 2 miles shorter and 3 minutes longer, essentially a wash either way. If I'm coming from the west (eg. Portland) I'll usually take the toll bridge, but sometimes I'll come from Vancouver on WA-14, but that's for variety and scenery (or if I'm already on the WA side of the border), not to save the $2.

[1995hoo]

"Sunpiked"? I don't know. I don't generally keep track of the weather on days when I travel.

I don't normally actively seek to avoid tolls these days unless it's minimally inconvenient to do so. With that said, I definitely shunpike the "Tourist Exit" in Maine, i.e., the exit from the northbound Maine Turnpike to northbound I-295 near Portland (Exit 44). Exit 45 is toll-free and takes you less than a mile out of the way, so I go that way if I'm in the area. mtantillo of this forum suggested that maneuver to me.

When I was in my 20s and broke I was more likely to do things like using I-295 in New Jersey to shunpike as much of the Turnpike as possible on my way to or from New York, but I don't bother with that sort of thing anymore and it would be hard for me to think of places where I actively avoid a particular tollbooth these days. I tend not to take the Pennsylvania Turnpike if I don't have to do so, but that's not because of the tolls so much as it is a general dislike for using that road if I don't need to do so.

On our most recent trip north in June 2019, to get to Schenectady I intentionally took a toll road (the Northeast Extension) because I wanted to clinch it and because I also wanted to clinch I-88.

[frankenroad]

For many years, when my wife and I were first married (and broke), we travelled frequently between our home in Maryland and her family's home in Western Massachusetts.
We always took I-295 through NJ, so I guess that was shunpiking.  One time, we were returning home and had almost no cash on us.  We took all sorts of backroads through Delaware and NE Maryland to avoid tolls.  This was almost 40 years ago, so I don't remember exactly how we did it.

When we would travel to Ohio to visit my family we would always take US-40/48 (before it was completed and renamed I-68) to avoid the PA Turnpike.  Honestly, that was more to avoid Breezewood than the tolls.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

The northern stretch of the NJ Turnpike is really expensive for such a short distance. Sometimes I will avoid it with 21 to 3 to the eastern spur, but you waste time with that.

In NYC I will rarely take the battery or midtown tunnels since they are easily avoided, but sometimes it's worth taking the midtown tunnel to avoid awful traffic on the queens approach to the 59th street bridge

[paulthemapguy]

I have never Sunpiked because I don't own a SunPass.

[US 89]

I moonpike instead.

[sprjus4]

Possibly.  If it does, that time I exited the HOT lanes because I assumed the high toll was only due to the regular backups at the southern merge (which was either not yet extended a mile south or only recently was) as the general lanes were moving at the time.  This is single-handedly one of the biggest mistakes I've made on a roadtrip in my entire life.

The HO/T lanes were extended about 2 miles south a few years ago, but that did nothing but shift the backup. It still is real bad there. They are currently extending the lanes to Fredericksburg, along with building a thru-local setup that will feature 3 "thru" and 3 "local" lanes in each direction, all free of charge, between VA-3, over the Rappahannock River, and US-17. The HO/T lanes southern terminus will tie into this setup, and that's where a lot of the traffic volumes fall off (still high, but the 6 general purpose lanes south of Fredericksburg can reasonably handle it), so hopefully both projects together will - eliminate the southern terminus backup for both the HO/T lanes and the general purpose, and the major backups frequently occurring in the Fredericksburg area.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/fredericksburg/i-95_southbound_rappahannock_river_crossing.asp
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/fredericksburg/i-95_northbound_rappahannock_river_crossing.asp
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/fredericksburg/i-95_express_lanes_fredericksburg_extension.asp

The other major issue on the I-95 corridor that will not be addressed by any projects though - is the 4th lane drop at the Occoquan that leads to daily 3-6+ mile backups for southbound general purpose traffic. VDOT needs to push ahead and expand the highway to 4 lanes in each direction to at least VA-234, but does not have any plans to. They are currently building an auxiliary lane between the VA-123 South on-ramp and the VA-294 off-ramp, but that will not eliminate that 4th lane drop problem. If they were smart, they would tie that new "auxiliary" lane into the 4th lane so it drops further south. That would not involve that much more construction (merely a brief 5th lane for that on-ramp and dropping it), and would do wonders for traffic.

https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northern-virginia/i-95-south-auxiliary-lane.asp