Roads That Are On Your Bucket List Because of This Forum

[sprjus4]

Richmond to Fredericksburg isn't always an issue, I've certainly had times where I can hop on and cruise 80 mph the whole way, whereas other times it's been stop-and-go, especially during peak travel periods and weekends, but north of Fredericksburg it certainly gets hairy, sometimes stop-and-go, other times cruising.

It amazes me how I-295 around the northeast side of Richmond, carries 80,000 AADT, is 8 lanes, and always flows 75 - 80 mph, whereas I-95 north of I-295, carries over 100,000 AADT, is only 6 lanes, and seems to always congest.

VDOT needs to widen I-95 between I-295 and the Occuqoan River to 8 general purpose lanes to keep up with current and traffic demands, but clearly has zero intention or care to, even though the situation will only get worse, and in 20 years all of I-95, even between Fredericksburg and DC, will be gridlock, and even worse north of Fredericksburg. The HO/T lanes will only help to a certain extent, it's not a long-term solution where general purpose widening is applicable and feasible.

[Flint1979]

The thing about I-95 between DC and Richmond is the alternates suck.

I was driving from Manassas to Fredericksburg which you would think is a relatively easy distance. It took me 3 hours to get to Fredericksburg. No good alternate routes existed at least that day.

South of Fredericksburg it wasn't bad as I was headed to Florida.

[webny99]

... it's also fair to recognize that what someone considers "terrible" will be influenced by what that person is used to on the roads.

Agreed. Having not encountered a congestion-related slowdown since the start of the pandemic, and maybe once or twice a month at most prior to that, I'm intrigued by bad traffic in general, and especially on long-distance corridors.

My rule of thumb is generally that if I must be in the Richmond area by a certain time, I don't rely on taking I-95 if it's a weekday–I'm more likely to use US-301 south through Maryland. (This worked really well the last time I needed to be down there at a specific time, and US-301 worked well for that because I was going to Richmond International Raceway to drive a race car and the speedway is east of the city, as is US-301.)

This is probably a naive question, but how does US 301 compare to US 1? The latter was terrible on the part I used to bypass I-95: heavy truck traffic, grades, too narrow for the volume, many poorly timed stoplights...

[Ketchup99]

301 is a pretty high-quality roadway and a decent bypass. Lots of this: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5623714,-76.9858111,3a,75y,173.42h,89.69t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s2_b4nv9fcGthmZzYzQS_zA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D2_b4nv9fcGthmZzYzQS_zA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D174.5944%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

[1995hoo]

South of Bowling Green, US-301 is generally a two-lane road most of the way to the Richmond suburbs, but there also isn't really anybody on it–most traffic instead continues west from Bowling Green to pick up I-95.

The only major slowdowns most long-distance traffic would experience on Route 301 are generally in Waldorf, Maryland, due to a lot of traffic lights, and to a lesser degree in La Plata for similar reasons. I generally miss all of that when I use that route because of where I live in Virginia–I go over the Wilson Bridge to Maryland, take Route 210 south, and then I have various options to cut over to Route 301 depending on the time of day, the day of the week, and whether the radio has mentioned any incidents.

US-1 is also a much better thru route south of Fredericksburg than it is north of Fredericksburg. Less traffic, less development, fewer traffic lights. Essentially everything north of Fredericksburg can be considered outer suburbs of the DC area (consider that a VRE commuter rail line extends to just south of Fredericksburg and carries commuters to and from Union Station in DC). You don't necessarily see all the development from I-95 and US-1, but it's there.

[sparker]

A couple of contenders:  like to do the entirety of Corridor "H" in the not-too-distant future.  Also, and considerably closer to home, would be CO 82/Independence Pass.  I'm a patron of Interstate Kyle's road trip video series, and he put out a video over that pass several months back -- really whetted my appetite to do it myself, once the COVID issue is over/addressable and I can get my cataract surgery done (at last).  No long driving trips until that happens, of course. 

[dlsterner]

This is probably a naive question, but how does US 301 compare to US 1? The latter was terrible on the part I used to bypass I-95: heavy truck traffic, grades, too narrow for the volume, many poorly timed stoplights...

I know you didn't ask me, but here's my two cents.  Living in central Maryland, I almost exclusively take US 301 across the Gov. Nice bridge to Ruther Glen VA rather than I-95 from the Beltway south.  For a lot of its length US 301 is a free flowing 55 mph road.

As 1995hoo mentioned, Waldorf is pretty much the only really slow spot, due to traffic, commercial development, and traffic lights.  If you are aware of it, there is a bypass to the east.  No continuous number and it isn't signed as a bypass, so you pretty much have to already know about it.  From the north, MD 5 to St. Charles Parkway to Rosewick Road.  It may take about the same amount of time, but for me anyway, much less stressful - especially when at the end of a day of driving.

I've also been known to take US 301 between Bowling Green and I-295 for the same reason - being in the mood for a lower stress drive.  Especially if I've checked the live traffic and I-95 looks messy.

[sprjus4]

US-301 and VA-207 in Virginia was also recently increased from 55 mph to 60 mph in many areas (still should be 65 mph, but better than 55 mph), which makes it quite easy to set the cruise control at 68 - 70 mph without issue in most places. Very nice drive compared to I-95, especially when congested, which seems to be the case most of the time.

Sometimes I've chosen to deal with US-301 traffic in Maryland rather than sit parked on I-95 South, both options beat paying $30 to avoid it.

US-17 between US-301 and I-64 is also another alternative to taking VA-207 to I-95 to I-64, which can also be a mess, if you're heading to Hampton Roads. Most of US-17 is also posted at 60 mph, and was recently extended over a previous 55 mph zone an additional 20 miles down to Gloucester.

If you're going the US-301 / US-17 route, northbound you pay the toll at the Coleman Bridge ($2), and southbound you pay the toll at the Nice Bridge ($6). They are only collected in one direction, and in a manner where you only pay at one depending on direction. Once the Nice is widened to 4 lanes and presumably cashless, it could be split to be $3 each way.

[ilpt4u]

I'm not sure I really have a road to travel "bucket list"

That said, discussions on the Avenue of the Saints led me to taking that route up to Minnesota from Southern Illinois a few years ago

I think "New"  I-57 to Little Rock will be fun to drive, once it is completed, again partially from the lively discussion on I-57 in the Mid-South forum

The NJ Turnpike is probably the closest thing to me for a "bucket list"  to clinch - Looks like it would be a fun road to just take a trip from Delaware to NYC sometime. I've been on small segements of the NJTP, but never as the driver. I just don't get out to the East Coast that often

[Takumi]

Re: the OP, I'm going to second Corridor H, and most of the Appalachian Highway corridors in general. The "racetrack"  section of US 33 is up there for me even though it's probably doable on a day trip for me.

Re: Nova alternatives, a couple times when I've gone to western parts of Prince William or Fairfax or Loudoun, I've jumped off 95 at US 17 Falmouth, to VA 28. Once you get out of Falmouth itself, it's a breeze. There's also the scenic cut-through of Fauquier SR 806 that meets up with VA 28 in Catlett. 28 itself was also quiet all the way up to the VA 215 intersection.

[Ned Weasel]

I-93 in New Hampshire

[webny99]

I-93 in New Hampshire

If you're referring to the two-lane portion, count me in. I forgot about that one.