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Tulsa to New York

Started by bugo, August 22, 2014, 07:21:34 PM

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bugo

What is the best route? I am guessing I-44 to I-70 to I-71 to I-76 to I-80.


TheStranger

Google Maps offered a slightly different suggestion:

I-44 to I-70 all the way to I-76 at Breezewood, then I-76 east to Harrisburg, I-81 northeast for 18 miles, and then I-78 all the way to Manhattan.

Kinda depends on which part of NYC you're heading to
Chris Sampang

skluth

Quote from: bugo on August 22, 2014, 07:21:34 PM
What is the best route? I am guessing I-44 to I-70 to I-71 to I-76 to I-80.

If you are going through STL around rush hour, it's best to bypass to the south via I 270/255. The PSB (I 55/64 and until recently I 70) backs up for a mile or more every afternoon due to the high traffic volume and 25 mph speed limit on the entrance ramp. I 270 north of 44 should be avoided at all times.

A couple slightly longer but creative ways if time is not an issue.
I 44 to I 64 to I 79 to I 68 to I 70 to I 81 to I 78. St Louis, Louisville, Charleston WV, Morgantown, Harrisburg, NYC.

I 44 to I 35 to US 36 to I 72 to I 74 to US 231 to Indiana 25 to US 24 to I 69/469 to US 30 to I 76 to i 76 to I 80. KC, Springfield IL, Champaign, Lafayette, Fort Wayne, Youngstown, NYC. Lafayette and Fort Wayne could be especially tricky for travel, but it would have large stretches of lightly travelled freeway.

adventurernumber1

Straight from my head I'd say the best route to go is I-44 to I-70 to I-76 to I-81 (briefly) to I-78 to wherever you're headed in NYC. If time isn't factored in, and you want ideas for a creative route, then I've got: US 412 from Tulsa to Hayti, Missouri, then I-55 north to Sikeston, then US 62 to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, then I-65 north to Louisville, then I-71 northeast to Cincinnati, then US 50 to east of Little Hocking, Ohio, then OH SR 32 (very briefly) to SR 7 northeast to Marietta, Ohio, then I-77 north to Cambridge, Ohio, then I-70 east to Wheeling, West Virginia, then WV SR 2 north to Weirton, WV, then US 22 east to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, then I-99 north to I-80, and then finally I-80 east to NYC and then wherever you're headed in NYC.
Now alternating between different highway shields for my avatar - my previous highway shield avatar for the last few years was US 76.

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Bobby5280

I've driven Lawton to New York City a few times. I recommend taking I-44 to I-70 and staying on I-70 to the Penn Turnpike. Stay on the Penn Turnpike (and I-76) all the way to Harrisburg. Pick up I-81 and then I-78. Once you reach I-287 on the Western outskirts it just depends on where in the NYC area you intend to drive.

If you're going into Manhattan you could stay on I-78. If you're headed to points in Brooklyn, Queens or Long Island it might be better to swing down to I-278 via the NJ Turnpike and head across Staten Island to bypass Manhattan. If you're headed to more Northern parts of Greater New York you might take I-287 North to other crossing roads like I-80 or I-87. That whole area is pretty huge. There's a lot of different ways to get somewhere. Considering the high cost of tolls on the bridges and tunnels (not to mention parking costs in Manhattan) I'd stay somewhere in New Jersey and take the train into Manhattan and a number of other areas in the Big Apple.

briantroutman

Having grown up along I-80 a few hours west of New York and driven several times to visit my brother when he lived in OKC, my inclination is to recommend the route I used: I-44 to I-70, then I-71 to I-76 and I-80. (I'd use I-270 and I-255 around St. Louis and I-270 around Columbus.)

Google Maps says the I-70/I-76/I-81/I-78 route is shorter–but only very slightly at about 20 miles/20 min. Depending on where in the NY area you're headed, either could be shorter.

Here's why I'd favor the I-80 route over the PA Turnpike route.

  • You'll avoid tolls–$12.08 if you have E-ZPass, $16.95 if you don't.
  • You'll avoid I-70 between Washington and New Stanton, perhaps the worst section of Interstate in the country.
  • You'll avoid Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley, both of which can present (relatively minor) traffic issues depending on time of day.
  • You'll endure less agricultural stench. (I-78 in Lebanon and Berks Counties has to be one of the stinkiest roads in the country.)
  • You'll have better access to non-plaza services–and typically at shorter intervals.
  • Overall, I think I-80 is an easier and more balanced drive with a better alignment.

I-70/I-76/I-78 from Washington to Allentown basically consists of '40s-'50s-era highways, and their overly straight alignments and clumsy ramp geometry make the roads feel every bit as outdated and tiring as their ages suggest.

But on the other hand, there's a certain je ne sais quoi about the Turnpike, and if you're in the mood for that (as I am sometimes), nothing else is the same.

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

hbelkins

Quote from: bugo on August 22, 2014, 07:21:34 PM
What is the best route? I am guessing I-44 to I-70 to I-71 to I-76 to I-80.

If you'd like to avoid big cities and don't mind driving on about 35 miles or so of two-lane route (which I know you don't) and would like to see some truss bridges (which I know you do), then try this.

Take I-44 to Springfield, then make your way over to US 60. Then take it all the way to Wickliffe, Ky.

Closest route from Wickliffe to Paducah is to turn right onto US 51/62 at the "T" intersection where 51, 60 and 62 split, then take a left onto KY 121 and then a left onto KY 286. That puts you back on US 62 a few miles west of Paducah.

At Paducah, take I-24 east, then the Western Kentucky Parkway east (I-69 north) to E-town, then a couple of miles on I-65 north, then the Bluegrass Parkway east to US 60 east. Make your way over to I-64, then follow it east to I-77 north to I-79 north to I-68 east to I-70 east to I-81 north to I-78 east. (Or for something different, take US 220 north off I-68 into Pennsylvania, then the PA Turnpike east to Harrisburg to hit I-81 north.)

Your only larger towns are Springfield, Lexington, Charleston and Harrisburg. (As opposed to Springfield, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus and Wheeling if you take I-70).

You'd get to see the old truss bridges across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers on US 60, plus a couple of trusses over the Kanawha River on I-64. And you would get to see the conversion of the WK/Pennyrile cloverleaf into a high-speed interchange for the continuation of I-69.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Duke87

Fair point. "Best route" depends on your goal. I've already driven all of the roads on the fastest route except I-44, so I wouldn't go that way.

Also, there is never a single "best route" for a long trip, since why would you want to go back the same way you came? :)
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

hbelkins

Quote from: Duke87 on September 13, 2014, 04:26:29 PM
Also, there is never a single "best route" for a long trip, since why would you want to go back the same way you came? :)

Sometimes you have to. Like when I was coming back from Kansas last year and had car trouble and had to rent a car in Springfield, Mo. I had gotten to Springfield mostly via US 60 and the Kentucky parkways, but had planned a different route home. After I picked my vehicle up and returned the rental, I would have had to fight rush-hour traffic in STL on my way home, so I opted for US 60 back to Kentucky.

And there are not very many ways back home from the northeast for me that don't involve I-79 in West Virginia.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.



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