Best/Fastest Routes or Cheats around tolls...

[thenetwork]

I figured we could start a list of best/fastest routings around all or most of the tolls. For Example:

Pittsburgh to Cleveland:  I-279/79 North to I-76 West to I-680 West to SR-711 North to SR-82 West to US-422 West to I-480 West.   (Only 50 cents in the brief Ohio Tpk. section -- but a fraction of the all-turnpike cost -- mostly 4-lane with a 7-mile 2-lane stretch and a only a few traffic lights).

Pittsburgh to Akron:  I-279/79 North to I-76 West to I-680 West to I-80 West to I-76 West. (Again, only 50 cents, and if you want all-4-lane with NO traffic lights or 2-lanes, take this route to Akron then I-77 North to Cleveland)

BTW, going the opposite direction is different, as PA hits you hard in tolls entering their state on I-76.   From I-680 East, US-224 East to SR-170 South to SR-14 East (Becomes PA-51 at the border) to I-376 East. (2-lane roads from I-680 to PA-51 a few miles inside PA and a notable amount of Traffic Lights, especially in PA). Going beyond Pittsburgh???:

Pittsburgh to Baltimore/Washington, DC Area I-79 South to I-68 East to I-70 in Maryland.

Charleston to Bluefield, WV Since I-77 only has 3 toll barriers along the West Virginia Turnpike mainline, you can duck out at the exits immediately before the 3 plazas and get back on after without paying a pro-rated rate. The northernmost barrier (between Exits 85 & 79 -- Cheylan & Sharon) is relatively easy, the central Barrier (between Exits 60 & 54 -- Mossy & Pax) follows a winding 1-1/2 lane road and is not for the faint of heart, and the Southern Barrier (between Exits 40 & 28 -- I-68 & Ghent) is the longest bypass, and zigzags it's way around Beckley, depending on where you leave I-77).

Others??

[TheStranger]

I wonder how many people use I-295 between I-195 and the Delaware Memorial Bridge specifically to avoid the NJTP...

[rickmastfan67]

You do know you're missing steps, right?  "I-279 North to I-680 West" is not possible unless you have a flying car or can find a wormhole to trasport to between the routes.

[thenetwork]

You do know you're missing steps, right?  "I-279 North to I-680 West" is not possible unless you have a flying car or can find a wormhole to transport to between the routes.

That is a major missing step, isn't it???
Fixed!  
Thankx!!!

[rickmastfan67]

You do know you're missing steps, right?  "I-279 North to I-680 West" is not possible unless you have a flying car or can find a wormhole to trasport to between the routes.

That is a major missing step, isn't it??? Fixed!  Thankx!!!

Still missing the short segment on I-79.

[thenetwork]

And to finish out the Northern Ohio string:

Cleveland to Toledo:  
ROUTE A: I-90 West to SR 2 West to I-280 North. (Most of the 2-lane section of Route 2 is Traffic Light-Free, while most of the traffic lights are along the non-freeway, multi-lane section of SR-2 in Lucas County).
ROUTE B: I-71 South to I-480 West to SR-10 West to US-20 West to I-75 North.  (Most of US-20 west of Norwalk is 4-lane, divided, but 3-5 traffic lights in every city not bypassed, which is like every 10 miles.)

Toledo to Chicago I-75 to I-475 West to US 23 North to I-94 West

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Carlisle to Philadelphia.
I-81 N to PA 581 E to I-83 N to I-283 S to PA 283 E to US 30 E to US 202 N to I-76
While you miss the tolls on the Turnpike, you don't necessarily make up any time from Lancaster on east into Philly. 

[Alps]

New York to Philly: Depends on time of day.  95S-80W-287S-202S-31S-95S is a popular route.  If you're further down, try 139W-1/9S (Skyway)-22W-GSP S-1S and you can take 95S or a Trenton free bridge to 1S to 95S.

Hartford to Boston: Rather than hit the Turnpike, I jog east on US 20 (I-84 Exit 3) to a couple of choices:
* MA 9 straight on in
* MA 9 to MA 16, I-90 to Exit 17, down Charlesbank to Soldiers Field Rd./Storrow Dr.
* I-395 N to I-290 E, I-495 to US 20, I-95 to MA 2

New Jersey toward Albany: I-287 N, then from the Thruway I quickly hop on NY 17 before the toll.  Take 6E to 293N to 9W NB.  Before Newburgh, bear right twice and end up on River Rd. - definitely a faster way through town.

[PAHighways]

Pittsburgh to Baltimore/Washington, DC Area I-79 South to I-68 East to I-70 in Maryland.

If you're on the eastern side of the city like me, US 30 straight to Breezewood then I-70.

[Alps]

Pittsburgh to Baltimore/Washington, DC Area I-79 South to I-68 East to I-70 in Maryland.

If you're on the eastern side of the city like me, US 30 straight to Breezewood then I-70.

I HATE hate hate that part of US 30.  You always get stuck behind a truck doing 7 mph.  PA 31 was a lot nicer ride, probably still faster even after cutting down 981-982.

[Chris]

Shunpiking is quite popular in France as their tolls are extraordinary high. A 600 mile trip through the country can cost you as much as $ 100 one way.

It used to be quite easy, as there were "Route Nationales" that ran parallel to the toll roads and were often of high standard. However, they have renumbered almost all their RN-routes, now N20 can have numbers like D9020, D920, D2020, etc., making the routes harder to follow.

[yanksfan6129]

New York to Philly: Depends on time of day.  95S-80W-287S-202S-31S-95S is a popular route.  If you're further down, try

From my house, I always take I-287 to US 206 to I-95. I was surprised at the fact it didn't add any time to the trip to Philly vs. using the Turnpike and the Ben Franklin Bridge.

[PAHighways]

Pittsburgh to Baltimore/Washington, DC Area I-79 South to I-68 East to I-70 in Maryland.

If you're on the eastern side of the city like me, US 30 straight to Breezewood then I-70.

I HATE hate hate that part of US 30.  You always get stuck behind a truck doing 7 mph.  PA 31 was a lot nicer ride, probably still faster even after cutting down 981-982.

I travel that route almost every month and rarely get stuck behind a truck, but when it happens, there are plenty of passing opportunities.

[froggie]

As Chris noted, this post smacks of shunpiking.  Which IMO isn't always the right way to go.  If you're not wasting gas on the shunpike route, you're often wasting time.

That said...

I wonder how many people use I-295 between I-195 and the Delaware Memorial Bridge specifically to avoid the NJTP...

Back when I was doing occasional New Jersey runs, I'd usually take 295 to US 1 to the GSP.  It was usually late enough at night by the time I got to the Delaware Memorial Bridge to where traffic wasn't an issue.

New Jersey toward Albany: I-287 N, then from the Thruway I quickly hop on NY 17 before the toll.  Take 6E to 293N to 9W NB.  Before Newburgh, bear right twice and end up on River Rd. - definitely a faster way through town.

IMO, the Thruway along this stretch isn't so bad that avoidance is necessary.  And especially with the new high-speed EZPass lanes at Harriman, you're losing a good bit of time.  However, next time I "night over" at West Point, I'll have to try out that River Rd route through Newburgh.

If you're on the eastern side of the city like me, US 30 straight to Breezewood then I-70.

I HATE hate hate that part of US 30.  You always get stuck behind a truck doing 7 mph.

Not an issue between Bedford and Breezewood, where 30 is 4 lanes.  Just the painfully long red light at 70.

[mightyace]

My normal route between Philly airport and my dad's house is I-95S, I-476N (free), I-476N (NE ext. PA tpk.), I-80W to US11S and vice versa

A toll-free alternate is I-95S, I-476N, I-76W, US 202S, US 422W, US 222E, PA 61N, PA 42N, PA 487N, US 11N

It is hillier and about 30 min longer but about the same distance.

[Alps]

As Chris noted, this post smacks of shunpiking.  Which IMO isn't always the right way to go.  If you're not wasting gas on the shunpike route, you're often wasting time.

I shunpike.  A lot.  But then again, this post DOES talk about "best route around tolls", meaning, if I don't want to pay the toll, how do I go instead?

New Jersey toward Albany: I-287 N, then from the Thruway I quickly hop on NY 17 before the toll.  Take 6E to 293N to 9W NB.  Before Newburgh, bear right twice and end up on River Rd. - definitely a faster way through town.

IMO, the Thruway along this stretch isn't so bad that avoidance is necessary.  And especially with the new high-speed EZPass lanes at Harriman, you're losing a good bit of time.  However, next time I "night over" at West Point, I'll have to try out that River Rd route through Newburgh.

That's why I changed it from "to" to "toward" - most people would rather pay the toll and get it over with.  At least as far as Kingston, I'd rather use my route.  Coming back from Albany, I usually end up swinging over to the Taconic and running down through NYC.

[Alps]

New York to Philly: Depends on time of day.  95S-80W-287S-202S-31S-95S is a popular route.  If you're further down, try

From my house, I always take I-287 to US 206 to I-95. I was surprised at the fact it didn't add any time to the trip to Philly vs. using the Turnpike and the Ben Franklin Bridge.

If you like US 206, try CR 601.  That's where you go straight instead of the sharp curve over the railroad tracks.  Bypasses Princeton and saves you a mint of time.

[iwishiwascanadian]

I managed to get from Hartford to DC without paying a toll, I used:

91 South to 84 West to 684 South to the Hutch then 95 South to NY 9A South (Henry Hudson Pkwy/West Side Hwy) to 78 West (Holland Tunnel) to NJ 139 South to US 1 South to I-95 South all the way to DC (including the weird exit thing on the Delaware Turnpike).

[froggie]

Using that route, you'd have still paid a toll on I-95 in Delaware.  And the same route would have 3 tolls on the return trip north.

[SSOWorld]

Milwaukee to Chicago or Indianapolis:Take US41 instead of I-94 to the Edens.  For Indy - After Chicago, Bishop Ford to Borman to I-65.

Madison to Chicago - go through Milwaukee and use above or take US 12 straight in and get on to the Kennedy or Eisenhower.

EDIT: Note these routes are slower - not as many free interstates in NE Illinois

[Chris]

I'm surprised how bad people want to avoid to pay a few bucks for using a road. I can understand it's worth it if you're driving a toll route everyday, but why bother for one-time drives? Most American tolls are very reasonable (except for New York City). Compare that to the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, it's $ 50 one way. (Now you can't shunpike there, unless you want to take a ferry or make a 3,000 mile detour via Russia).

[deathtopumpkins]

I don't mind paying tolls most of the time, especially the first time I drive a road, but if it's something driven regularly, like for me the route from Hampton Roads to Connecticut or Boston, I try to find some alternatives. For example, I usually take I-295 to I-195 in New Jersey, which I find to be a more scenic drive than the Turnpike anyway, and I've taken the Cross-County to the Hutch to the Merrit Parkways before as opposed to I-95 through NYC / Connecticut because they're also more scenic and free.

[agentsteel53]

Buffalo to Detroit: Canada.

[InterstateNG]

Buffalo to Detroit: Canada.

Tolls on all the international crossings.

[agentsteel53]

Tolls on all the international crossings.

correct, but still significantly faster - even if you account for international crossings, which tend to be a lot faster coming into the US from Canada than from Mexico.  isn't the bridge toll something like $4 each way?  How does that compare to the Ohio Turnpike?