I'll be driving from Newark to Hartford at the end of the month and I'd like some advice as to the best route in terms of price and traffic flow. I think all the bridges across the Hudson are tolled so there's no option but to pay. Once over the river there's a choice of I-95 or Merritt Parkway. I think there may be some tolls on I-95. Which of these is the quickest?
Interstate 95 is godawful between the state line and New Haven. Unless you are taking it late at night, expect lots of stop and go (way to many on and off-ramps). There are no tolls for I-95 outside of the New England Thruway plaza at New Rochelle that was $1.00 last I went through there.
Personally I'd avoid the GWB (horrible chokepoint of traffic at the toll plaza) and take the Palisades Interstate Parkway north to Interstates 87/287 across the Tappan Zee Bridge. From there you can take I-287 back to Interstate 95 or the Merritt, or you can take I-684 north to I-84. Interstate 84 is not much better than Interstate 95, but it is better.
Thanks for your replies, looks like it will be Merritt Parkway then. I've been through Hartford a few times but never from New York. One of the times was at night when I turned off onto a surface street and set up my tripod :)
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How about taking 17 North to the Thruway to exit 17 to I-84?
It's a little out of the way, but the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is cheaper than either the GWB or the Tappan Zee. I'd consider I-84 also.
One thing about the Merritt - I concur with what the others are saying but be aware that if there's any kind of backup on it, you'll be wishing you had taken either 95 or 84! An accident doesn't just slow the Merritt down; it stops it.
I used to try all of the routes mentioned here when I shuttled from Boston to Philadelphia every other weekend.
My preference became using the PIP or 9W to the Thruway, then 287, 684 and 84.
The "prettiest" way is certainly to take the Merritt. A gorgeously landscaped road.
In that case I'll do 9W, 287, 684, 84 one way and 91, Merrit Parkway, 287, 9W coming back :)
Is it worth using 9W to the immediate south of Tappan Zee Bridge to cut the corner between PIP and 287?
Quote from: Truvelo on March 06, 2009, 04:00:13 PM
Is it worth using 9W to the immediate south of Tappan Zee Bridge to cut the corner between PIP and 287?
:nod: :nod: :nod:
Quote from: Truvelo on March 06, 2009, 04:00:13 PM
In that case I'll do 9W, 287, 684, 84 one way and 91, Merrit Parkway, 287, 9W coming back :)
Is it worth using 9W to the immediate south of Tappan Zee Bridge to cut the corner between PIP and 287?
I haven't had to do it in a while, but that had been may way of choice to and from the White Plains area. I enjoyed the trip on 9W.
I liked taking 9W as a change of pace from PIP. I almost always took it to and from Exit 4 on the PIP.
Quote from: Rob Adams on March 06, 2009, 06:27:20 PM
I liked taking 9W as a change of pace from PIP. I almost always took it to and from Exit 4 on the PIP.
I like that it shaves some distance off to 87, but I've wondered about the time. Also used 303 for that purpose.
Quote from: Rob Adams on March 06, 2009, 08:08:54 AM
It's a little out of the way, but the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is cheaper than either the GWB or the Tappan Zee. I'd consider I-84 also.
One thing about the Merritt - I concur with what the others are saying but be aware that if there's any kind of backup on it, you'll be wishing you had taken either 95 or 84! An accident doesn't just slow the Merritt down; it stops it.
Luckily it's pretty easy to go from one to the other. Monitor 880 and 1010 AM (traffic on the 8's and 1's) and see if the Merritt is mentioned in your direction. If so, divert (preferably via a freeway like 7 or 8).
I didn't take the route I originally intended as the signage around Newark Airport is complicated to say the least. In the end I followed I-95. As it was a Saturday I thought it would be worth the risk using the Washington Bridge as traffic on the NJ side flowed really well. As soon as I reached the NY side the traffic stopped and moved a couple of car lengths every minute, see below.
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In the end I turned round at the next exit and took I-87 north and then 287 to reach Merritt Parkway. However Merritt Parkway is signed off exit 9 but from there it's only mentioned a couple more times and then I ended up on 120A heading into Port Chester. I then took US 1 and joined I-95 at exit 5. A few miles later the matrix signs were showing exit 12-14 2 mile delays so I got off where the back of the queue started at Darien and then took 124 to reach Merritt Parkway. Wow, this road is like being in a timewarp. Even the gas stations are quaint little buildings which have little in the way of off ramps to separate them from the highway. The lack of shoulders is not a problem since most of our roads don't have them and the tight ramps at interchanges are another thing we have plenty of. The only thing that I noticed strange were the signs with serrated edges and a non standard font - what's this all about?
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On the return journey I took I-84 and then Taconic State Parkway. Having had the pleasure of using Merritt Parkway on the outward journey I was looking forward to this. However it's dangerously lethal. The lanes are too narrow, the bends are too tight, the grade is constantly up and down, the ramps on the interchanges are worse than those on Merritt, there's even left turn lanes in the median. I won't be going this way again, that's for sure.
Is the Cross Bronx the worst in New York?
The serrated edges were done to mimic the old wooden signs that were once used along the Merritt Parkway.
The Cross Bronx Expressway is the worse, perhaps tied with the BQE near the Battery Tunnel northward. I always hit the brakes through there.
Portions of the LIE have to be mentioned in that same sentence as well.
The font almost looks like Clearview.
Agreed - the Cross Bronx, BQE, and LIE all get marks for the worst. In the suburbs, I-95 (the CT. Turnpike) is dreadful.
I'm guessing you missed the entrance to the Hutch off Westchester Ave and that's why you wound up in beautiful, downtown Port Chester, NY?
QuoteIs the Cross Bronx the worst in New York?
Yes. The BQE is second and various other freeways are also bad, but the I-95 corridor needs to have at least double the lanes. Part of the problem is the serious limitation of the alternative corridor, 87/9A to Cross County to Hutch/Merritt on the Parkway system. First, trucks can't go that way and second, it's only 2 lanes each way on the Hutch/Merritt.
How about double-decking the Cross Bronx with express lanes from the GWB? The Trans-Manhattan Expressway part of I-95 already has like 12 lanes, which narrows to only 6 through Bronx. North of the Bruckner Interchange are already 2 expressways to handle the traffic. Cross Bronx is a huge bottleneck for those couple of miles in between.
Oh my - I shudder at the thought of construction on the Cross Bronx (even if it does need it). It's rare to find traffic moving on that nightmare.
Quote from: Rob Adams on April 01, 2009, 07:38:23 AM
Oh my - I shudder at the thought of construction on the Cross Bronx (even if it does need it). It's rare to find traffic moving on that nightmare.
Oops - so my idea of risking it during the weekend was always going to end in up stuck in traffic. So if that's weekend traffic what is it like during the rush hour - I dread to think :-o
There is just no relief from it. At one end, it botches up with traffic from the Bruckner, Hutch, and the bridges (Throgs Neck and Whitestone). At the other end, it jams with traffic coming from the Deegan and FDR Drive to head under the apartments and onto the George Washington Bridge.
I think the only time I ever saw it quiet was at 6:00 or so on a Sunday morning. Those who drive it more would know better. I avoid it whenever I can (it was even a nightmare last Thanksgiving).
It used to be wide open at 2 am. You used to also be able to go through the GWB Toll plaza without spending 45 minutes in the queue too. Of course, this was the 1990s. Something happened after 2000 that made the plaza a major choke point (at least through my experiences).
Perhaps you can date it to September 11, 2001. Trucks have only been allowed on the upper level since then.
Just a theory. I've never thought about it otherwise.
That could be the case, I drove across the GWB on March 15, 2000, and had little delay at the toll plaza or getting onto the bridge. The problems began midway along the span and east onto the Cross Bronx.
Midway on the span? Hell, the real problems start in NJ near Exit 72.
Depends. If there's a Yankees game, absolutely avoid I-95 and go with 1/9/46 (or PIP if you can, but most can't). During morning rush, bearing off at Exit 71 and going through Fort Lee can probably save you a good 20 minutes, but once you're on the bridge it tends to actually move. (Then it stops again on the other side.) In general, the bridge is the best-flowing part of the whole shebang because it's usually the tolls gumming things up. Rarely do Cross-Bronx delays make it back over the bridge. Usually you see them coming as you approach 9A and are able to make some decisions on the NY side.
QuoteMidway on the span? Hell, the real problems start in NJ near Exit 72
Yes, nowadays that is the case, but it was not so in the 1990s.
The nightmare of it all is that ALL TRUCKS must use the upper level of the GWB, which makes it an absolute nightmare if you drive an 18-wheeler (such as myself), and are trying to either merge over to exit onto the 87/Deegan Expwy, or trying to exit off the Deegan (from either direction) and IMMEDIATELY merge over two to three lanes to make the upper level ramps to the GWB. That interchange is beyond dangerous to say the least. I know whenever I have to go into NYC or Long Island, I never use the GWB, due to price and traffic and driving conditions. I always use the Goethals Br to the Staten Isl Expwy to the BQE, or if I go to CT then I'll use the Newburgh-Beacon Br and use I-84 across. The point is that the stretch of I-95 from the GWB Toll Plaza in NJ to the Bruckner/Whitestone interchange needs at the least rehabbing of pavement and signage, and the approaches to the GWB and Deegan interchanges needs total restructuring and a totoally different interchange design.
I find the amount of potholed pavement in the US to be shocking. The worst example must be the loop from US 202/206 to eastbound US 22 near Somerville, NJ.
I totally forgot about that area Truvelo! That is a nightmare
QuoteI find the amount of potholed pavement in the US to be shocking. The worst example must be the loop from US 202/206 to eastbound US 22 near Somerville, NJ.
Unfortunately, it can't be stopped from occurring as potholes form rapidly during winter with the freeze/thaw cycle in the northern half of the country.
While that can't be helped, many states either haven't had or haven't wanted to spend the money to do proper pothole repair and high traffic northeastern states like New York and Pennsylvania are particularly notorious for that.
There are some bad potholes appearing out there now. Try driving US 1/9 Truck, especially from NJ 7 to NJ 139. I hit two or three HUGE ones (several feet across, several inches deep) while trying to avoid other ones.
Quote from AlpsROADS:
There are some bad potholes appearing out there now. Try driving US 1/9 Truck, especially from NJ 7 to NJ 139. I hit two or three HUGE ones (several feet across, several inches deep) while trying to avoid other ones.
I was just up there twice in the last week. Many of the roads in that area are terrible, especially going further south toward Newark Airport. The heavy concentration of trucks in that area just eats the roads up and spits them out.
Going back to the issue of congestion on the GWB, here's a picture I took on the approach displaying 5 minutes for both the upper and lower levels which was hopelessly optimistic.
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When it says five minutes, it means no delay. It doesn't look like there is any traffic in that photo: how long did it take you to get to the toll barrier?
The problem wasn't at the toll barrier but at the other end of the bridge where the traffic stopped moving.
A big factor in this route is timing. If you always hit the Cross Bronx at a bad time, of course it will seem as though it's "always" congested, when that's not the reality. I'm not saying you'll ever go 70 on it, but, it's not always a crawl either.
I used to drive from VA to CT and back once ever few weeks, and this is the route that I found to be the least painful through the NYC metro area.
- On the NJTP heading north, take the exit for U.S. 46 East (you'll eventually reconnect with the I-95 to cross on the GWB)
- Cross the GWB on the Lower Level (makes the next part easier)
- Take the exit for I-87 Major Deegan going north
- Take the exit for the Cross County Parkway going east
- The Cross County merges with the Hutch, merge with it to continue east
- Cross the NY/CT state line and road changes into the Merritt Parkway CT-15
- The Merritt turns into the Wilbur Cross until you take exit 68 to merge on I-91 north
This is the route that I have found the best luck with, although using U.S. 46 is purely optional, but can be helpful if traffic is bad in northern New Jersey. You avoid the frustrating traffic on I-95 within Connecticut, traffic at the I-91/I-95 interchange in New Haven, and a toll on I-95 in New York (if you are going north). Many of the other suggestions do work, but they add a lot of miles, and traffic can be bad on the Tappan Zee as well.
^^ So this:
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