Hey guys, I will be driving from NC to a funeral Friday after Thanksgiving. looking for advice to avoid gridlock North of DC. I was told to try 83 to 78 vs 95 to NJTpk.
Thanks I'll be driving with my 87 yr old mom so we want as smooth as possible.
Quote from: Mppheel on November 22, 2016, 10:28:37 PM
Hey guys, I will be driving from NC to a funeral Friday after Thanksgiving. looking for advice to avoid gridlock North of DC. I was told to try 83 to 78 vs 95 to NJTpk.
Thanks I'll be driving with my 87 yr old mom so we want as smooth as possible.
How about US 13 up the Delmarva, crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel?
Quote from: Mppheel on November 22, 2016, 10:28:37 PM
Hey guys, I will be driving from NC to a funeral Friday after Thanksgiving. looking for advice to avoid gridlock North of DC. I was told to try 83 to 78 vs 95 to NJTpk.
Thanks I'll be driving with my 87 yr old mom so we want as smooth as possible.
Yes i agree.. Take i95 thru Philadelphia to nj 31 to get to Hackettstown
Quote from: hbelkins on November 23, 2016, 11:03:41 AM
Quote from: Mppheel on November 22, 2016, 10:28:37 PM
Hey guys, I will be driving from NC to a funeral Friday after Thanksgiving. looking for advice to avoid gridlock North of DC. I was told to try 83 to 78 vs 95 to NJTpk.
Thanks I'll be driving with my 87 yr old mom so we want as smooth as possible.
How about US 13 up the Delmarva, crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel?
LGMS428
Quote from: Mppheel on November 22, 2016, 10:28:37 PM
Hey guys, I will be driving from NC to a funeral Friday after Thanksgiving. looking for advice to avoid gridlock North of DC. I was told to try 83 to 78 vs 95 to NJTpk.
Thanks I'll be driving with my 87 yr old mom so we want as smooth as possible.
How about I-83 to I-81 to I-80? That's what will get you closest to Hackettstown. Generally, avoiding the area around NYC is a good idea from a traffic perspective. I don't know what Harrisburg traffic is like, but I'd assume it's better than NYC.
Quote from: dgolub on November 24, 2016, 09:48:33 AM
Quote from: Mppheel on November 22, 2016, 10:28:37 PM
Hey guys, I will be driving from NC to a funeral Friday after Thanksgiving. looking for advice to avoid gridlock North of DC. I was told to try 83 to 78 vs 95 to NJTpk.
Thanks I'll be driving with my 87 yr old mom so we want as smooth as possible.
How about I-83 to I-81 to I-80? That's what will get you closest to Hackettstown. Generally, avoiding the area around NYC is a good idea from a traffic perspective. I don't know what Harrisburg traffic is like, but I'd assume it's better than NYC.
There could be some congestion on I-83 merging onto I-81 NB and maybe the malls at Paxton St (Exit 45) around the Eisenhower Interchange and Colonial Park (Exit 50-US 22). I-81 minus an accident should be fine north of Linglestown/Paxtonia (Exit 72) until the current two-lane configuration near Pine Grove.
I would probably consider I-83 NB to US 30 EB to US 222 NB to PA 61 NB to I-78/US 22 EB and then follow either I-78 or US 22 EB to PA 33 and US 209 NB to I-80 EB in Stroudsburg if you want to stay mostly four lanes/freeway. I would think that route would miss most of the mall traffic, and US 222 may even be viable from Reading to Allentown due to presumably less truck traffic than normal along that corridor.
An interesting route idea via US 13 could be to take that (and maybe DE 1) to US 202/DE 141 and stay on DE 141 to US 202 north of Wilmington. Then US 202 NB to PA 100 NB just north of West Chester to PA 29 NB to I-78 at Exit 55 (the northern end of PA 29) in Allentown. Then you could take I-78 EB to PA 33 as I mentioned above or straight into NJ as you would stay decently west of most NYC traffic. Also PA 100 (north of I-76/PA Turnpike) and PA 29 are mostly two lanes in most spots. I really need to get more familiar with PA routes in general though.
Quote from: jwolfer on November 23, 2016, 01:54:10 PM
Yes i agree.. Take i95 thru Philadelphia to nj 31 to get to Hackettstown
That's a good idea. I95 in Northeast Philly is somewhat dicey with long term construction, but that's a good, direct route in a region where all the routes get congested.
I'm not a big fan of I-78 in PA...two lanes and the trucks will test both your fortitude and your wisdom.