Southern Tier or I-80?

[corco]

I'm going to be taking a random cross-country roadtrip from Wyoming to Maine here in a few weeks to help a friend move. We're in a bit of a hurry- she needs to get to Maine to start her job and I only have a couple days off from work (I have to leave Tucson to fly up there on Sunday and be back in Tucson by Thursday night)-, so we're sticking to interstates.  

We're taking the standard I-80 all the way to Ohio since there isn't a good alternate route, but after that there is some flexibility.  I've eliminated I-90 from the picture because I've already done that and it's boring and since I never go to that part of the country I'd like to see something different, so I'm wondering which is more interesting/more scenic/faster to get from Ohio to New England- I-86->I-88 or I-80->I-84?

We like interesting towns and good scenery- even though we are sticking to interstates we'd like to have nice little towns with good non-chain restaurants nearby so we can at least pretend we're actually traveling the country instead of just blazing across it.

[Roadgeek Adam]

80 by far in my opinion. 17/86 can get beautiful, but 80 & 84 are great through Pennsylvania.

[froggie]

However, 86/17/88 is by far the lesser-traveled route, especially by trucks.  So if you want a quieter route, that's the way to go.

[Alps]

There's not much along I-80 for most of PA. I ate at a good place off of I-86 and it passes through a few larger towns on the way (though I-88 is pretty isolated). I-80 would definitely be faster.

[LeftyJR]

Take I-80, I-81, I-84 through PA, its probably 2 hours faster.  Also, if you take I-86/88 through New York, you have some difficulty getting across Vermont/New Hampshire quickly.

[PAHighways]

Pressed for time, I-80 is the quicker route to take.  Traffic can be thick through New Jersey and into PA up to I-380, but then it dramatically falls off.  It becomes a nice scenic ride once you cross the Susquehanna.

[InterstateNG]

I'll also vouch for 80-81-84.  Wonderful drive, and will probably be appreciated after the monotony of the previous four states.

[Duke87]

According to Google, 90/86/88/90 is actually about 50 minutes faster than 80/81/84.

And... I believe them. The former avoids both I-80 in Pennsylvania (which is guaranteed to be under construction in multiple locations in the standard PennDOT fashion of "let's close a lane for ten miles at a time", meaning you will hit traffic) and I-84 in Connecticut (slower and also potentially congested due to urbanness).

[agentsteel53]

and what about 90 straight across?

[hbelkins]

Much of I-86 in New York from the PA state line to I-390 is rough, rough, rough. Pretty drive but the pavement will beat you to death.

I haven't been on I-88 so can offer no input there.

How is the construction east of Elmira on NY 17 progressing?

VT 9 isn't a bad route to get across the southern portion of that state if you end up off the MassPike. I didn't take a direct route across the southern part of New Hampshire when I drove up there a couple of years ago but the route I did take (NH 9/US 4) wasn't too terribly slow.

[cu2010]

and what about 90 straight across?

According to Google, it's about fifteen minutes longer...and totally not worth the pretty hefty $18.45 toll from PA to MA, not to mention that the Thruway is boring as hell...

[corco]

As with every other time I have ever asked for route recommendation on this site without having 100% confirmation on the drive, my friends Mom is going to be able to do it. She was the original plan, but she thought she wouldn't be able to and was going to pay for my airfare to Denver and then back from Maine to Tucson, but at the last minute she found out she'd be able to do it again, and since she lives in Maine already only one plane ticket has to be purchased.

I'm definitely going to go visit her at some point soon though (coupled with a trip to see my grandparents in Columbus OH- probably drive from Ohio to Maine and back), so I'll keep this information in mind. Thanks!


AARoads is a curse, it seems, on my off-the-wall travel plans. I'll no longer be posting route questions until I have ticket in hand.

On the bright side, since I got myself into roadtrip mode, I'm going to take a few days to explore the Four Corners region/drive most of the state highway mileage north of I-40 in Arizona

[Duke87]

How is the construction east of Elmira on NY 17 progressing?

Didn't notice anything happening when I was through there a couple weeks ago.

Parksville bypass is coming along, though. And, it looks like the route from I-84 up to Monticello or so is poised to actually be signed as I-86 in the near future. Lotsa covered up interstate shields along there. Even on BGSs:

[froggie]

That guide sign is new.  Didn't exist that way in October.

[hbelkins]

That guide sign is new.  Didn't exist that way in October.

Nor in November.

[mightyace]

^^^

If I'm not mistaken, it looks like only the Exit 4W sign was replaced.

Now why did they waste the space with two "WEST"s on the 4W sign?

[vdeane]

They probably are pretty close to signing it there - they might even be ready now.  I wonder how long it will take to get approval.

Work in Chemung county is probably mostly along CR 60 at this point to make it a continuous road.  The chosen alternative simply has I-86 on the present alignment with the at-grade intersections removed and a new interchange at Reed's Crossing (about 2 miles east of exit 58).

[pbrisebois]

Much of I-86 in New York from the PA state line to I-390 is rough, rough, rough. Pretty drive but the pavement will beat you to death.

I have to echo this. I drove on I-86 last fall for all of about 2 1/2 miles while I was driving down US-219, and I couldn't get off of it soon enough. So many potholes and loose bits of asphalt.

I would go I-80 if I were you.

[Dougtone]

Much of I-86 in New York from the PA state line to I-390 is rough, rough, rough. Pretty drive but the pavement will beat you to death.

I haven't been on I-88 so can offer no input there.

How is the construction east of Elmira on NY 17 progressing?

VT 9 isn't a bad route to get across the southern portion of that state if you end up off the MassPike. I didn't take a direct route across the southern part of New Hampshire when I drove up there a couple of years ago but the route I did take (NH 9/US 4) wasn't too terribly slow.

I-88 is being resurfaced little by little, especially west of Oneonta.  Some sections are really smooth, others are quite bumpy (especially around Otego).  However, I-88 is a very scenic (and very quiet) Interstate.

[yakra]

I took NY17 back in August between Binghamton and Elmira. Reconstruction did make things a little unpleasant with loose asphalt, narrow/closed lanes/shoulders, and what seemed a fair bit of traffic funneling thru it all, even somewhat late at night.
But hey, it's a pretty short distance. Good to hear upthread there's no signs of activity there now.

I agree with Doug; I found I-88 (east of Oneonta is where I've been) scenic & quiet too. Oneonta is a college town, so it should be a good bet for independent grub. (Even though to OP no longer has to worry about eating. )

you have some difficulty getting across Vermont/New Hampshire quickly.

Well, from there, online mappers such as Google will send you down along the Mass Pike (I-90) anyway. That is, if you really wanna spend some untold dollar amount to drive 35 extra miles, with, if memory/stereotype serves, thickish, unpleasant Mass. traffic and ho-hum scenery.

VT 9 isn't a bad route ... I didn't take a direct route across the southern part of New Hampshire when I drove up there a couple of years ago but the route I did take (NH 9/US 4) wasn't too terribly slow.

The NH9 corridor's the most direct route from the southwestern corner of the state to southern York county ME. It moves well; West of Concord it's largely Super-2, wide, straight and 55 MPH. East of Concord, The US4/202/NH9 multiplex isn't built to quite as hi-standard; there's development and couple-few lights, but it still moves along respectably; no real congestion to speak of. Concord itself can be bypassed via Interstates 89, 93 & 393. ~20 mi before the NH/ME line 4 202 & 9 fan out toward different York Co. points; take US202 unless you need to go somewhere south of Sanford.

I've only done VT9 once; it was pleasant and fun. `Twas at/after dark, but I can't imagine traffic during the day gets terrible. I think the worst you're likely to encounter is the trip thru Bennington, possibly including some hang-ups on the east side with construction of VT279 & (Vermont's first?) SPUI. Speeds are lower than NH, with more fun-to-drive grades and curves, up-close-n-personal-with-the-mountains scenery. I-91 can be used to bypass Brattleboro right before hitting NH. In between, I didn't remember any traffic lights in between; a quick Googling only revealed one.

[Alps]

One light on VT 9 in Wilmington. Eat at Dot's.

[agentsteel53]

I like 9 in general (VT, NH, ME) - but it is not freeway standard for sure.  You'll be doing 50-55 along winding mountain roads and 30 in towns.  If you're prepared to spend the time, it's a fun drive and there are always lots of things to see: scenery, old signs, cows, small businesses like restaurants and antique stores and what have you.  It's a good representative slice of rural New England.

[hbelkins]

http://www.millenniumhwy.net/videos/VT_9_Pt_1.mp4

http://www.millenniumhwy.net/videos/VT_9_Pt_2.mp4

[yakra]

Come to VT and see the majestic m00se! (Just don't run into one.)
Excellent videos, except for the turn into the I-91 turn lane at the end! :lol:
They made my ears pop.
__
NH9, while not full freeway, comes close with its Super-2 bits & controlled-access bypasses. While, as in VT, there are a few small towns @~30mph (mostly in the east) they're small and don't hang you up much.
ME9... we don't talk about ME9. It's fine west of Wells & east of Bangaw, but circuitous and mostly irrelevant as a long-distance thru route in between.

[agentsteel53]

a lot of Maine routes are fairly circuitous and not really useful as a through route.  US-1 also comes to mind.  very scenic, but one does not drive it just to get from Kittery to Fort Kent.