A friend of mine asked me for the best way to avoid the NY Thruway and the Mass Pike when traveling from the Midwest to the Boston area. The best advice I could give him was to take I-80 from Ohio to I-84 in Pennsylvania. You'd still catch the tail end of the Mass Pike though.
Just a random tossing out there for my fellow road geeks to help out with.
I-86/NY 17 to I-88 bypasses most of the Thruway. I-88 ends at the Thruway, but from there it's a free ride to I-87/free I-90 in Albany. Unless you go all the way down to I-95, you're looking at surface streets to completely bypass them though.
Masspike avoidance: I-84 to US 20 to I-290. Or just suck it up and pay the 50 fucking cents.
PS: there's a toll on I-84 over the Hudson.
Quote from: vdeane on September 21, 2014, 05:09:33 PM
I-86/NY 17 to I-88 bypasses most of the Thruway. I-88 ends at the Thruway, but from there it's a free ride to I-87/free I-90 in Albany. Unless you go all the way down to I-95, you're looking at surface streets to completely bypass them though.
I've personally used that as a bypass for the Thruway. It's a scenic drive and doesn't add too much to the driving time. I would've recommended it if avoiding the Mass Pike wasn't also a priority.
Where, exactly, in the midwest is the origin?
Quote from: hbelkins on September 21, 2014, 08:27:58 PM
Where, exactly, in the midwest is the origin?
Chicagoland. I think he's willing to eat the Indiana Tollway and Ohio Turnpike losses but doesn't want to also pay for the NY Thruway and Mass Pike as well. I can somewhat sympathize with that. I haven't talked to him since posting the topic but the I-84 toll across the Hudson might not be much of a problem.
What would be the combined cost of the NY Thruway and Mass Pike anyway? It seems like it'd easily add at least $30 or so to the drive but I feel like you'd lose that in gas money by going out of your way to avoid both.
The Pike is $7.10 end to end. MA 2 is a good alternate through Massachusetts. It's significantly slower, but it is much more scenic, particularly through the Berkshires.
Quote from: DBrim on September 22, 2014, 12:16:54 AM
The Pike is $7.10 end to end. MA 2 is a good alternate through Massachusetts. It's significantly slower, but it is much more scenic, particularly through the Berkshires.
Thanks. It looks like I-80 through PA would definitely add more than it would save in that case.
The Thruway would be $18.45...having EZPass saves just under a dollar off that. Taking I-90 through Albany instead of taking the Thruway around saves another $1.35.
Once upon a time I think somebody here ran the numbers for I-86 (NY 17) and I-88 vs. the Thruway. I believe the conclusion was that the cost of time and extra mileage via the southern route was a wash compared to the Thruway.
Quote from: froggie on September 22, 2014, 08:22:08 AM
The Thruway would be $18.45...having EZPass saves just under a dollar off that. Taking I-90 through Albany instead of taking the Thruway around saves another $1.35.
I was under the impression that EZPass savings only applied in the state that your EZPass is registered in...?
Quote from: wphiii on September 24, 2014, 10:03:03 PM
Quote from: froggie on September 22, 2014, 08:22:08 AM
The Thruway would be $18.45...having EZPass saves just under a dollar off that. Taking I-90 through Albany instead of taking the Thruway around saves another $1.35.
I was under the impression that EZPass savings only applied in the state that your EZPass is registered in...?
Depends on the agency and road. My Massachusetts EZPass gets discounts on the Indiana Toll Road, for example. (I got it in Massachusetts when I lived there; I no longer do but they don't care--they even replaced the tag when the original's battery started dying and I had already been out of state for some time.)
My NYSTA E-ZPass gets me a discount on all the harbor crossings (Tobin Bridge, Williams and Sumner Tunnels) but not the Mass Pike.
Quote from: wphiii on September 24, 2014, 10:03:03 PM
I was under the impression that EZPass savings only applied in the state that your EZPass is registered in...?
It's supposed to apply everywhere, but several agencies with in-state-only discounts had already been grandfathered in by the time the IAG put their foot down.
Massachusetts was only E-ZPass compatible, not branded as such, until recently, so I guess they are grandfathered accordingly.