Jaydon

Hi all,
Just found this site, it's great. We will be driving from RI to FL later this month. We plan on two nites; we're both seniors and we've found it's better if we don't push it.
We are planning on 95 to NJ Tnpk and then back to 95.
We are shooting for ~500 miles/day.
On the last trip, about 18 months ago we hit horrible traffic south of DC. About a 3 hour delay. Just wondering if this is normal. It was just before Christmas.
Also, any suggestions places to stay along the way. I'd like to try to get to south Jersey so we'd be fresh for the Baltimore/DC area in the AM.
We'll be leaving on a thursday.
Any help or advise on the trip would be really appreciated.
Jay

vincenzo32951

The traffic on 95 between DC and Richmond has become the bane of everyone's driving existence. I finally gave up and started using 301. I don't know if road conditions have improved recently on that stretch of 95. Some VA residents here might have some info.

As for where to stop: Maybe consider pushing yourself just a few more miles past South Jersey and stay somewhere near Newark, DE (not Newark, NJ). Otherwise, you're just going to be picking a motel off the NJ Turnpike.

I then pick up 301 off the east side of the DC Beltway and follow it all the way to the Richmond Beltway. There are some back roads and traffic lights, and if someone has a better idea, I'd love to hear it.

Note: A bridge on I-495 around Wilmington, DE, has been closed "indefinitely" for repairs, creating a mess for drivers heading south. You may want to keep an eye on the progress of repairs as your departure date approaches.

SusanMargaret

Have you thought about using auto train? We do that regularly and it cuts out about 1000 miles of driving. You and your car board in Lorton, DC mid afternoon and you arrive in Sanford, FL the following morning about 9:00. We get a roomette. Although we don't save time, it really makes the trip easy.

Jaydon

Hi Vince and Susan,
Thanks for the replies. I looked at another site (I-95 Exit Info) and saw they suggest Newark, DE, also. We forgot about the auto train. I think we'll check it out. How are the roomettes? Or, for just one night, maybe suffer in a seat. LOL Thanks
Jay

ekscrunchy

Why not go by way of the Delmarva peninsula? I have driven this route twice now, from NYC to Florida.
Much better than I95. You can make it easily to NC, where you will then take 95 for the rest of the drive.

emalloy

We've done both the delmarva route and also gone down 81 which was about 100 miles farther but took a little less time than 95 from CT. We typically left CT by 4 AM when we went 95 which put us past NYC by 7 and past DC in the early afternoon with stops for gas and lunch. This let us get to Emporia or Rocky Mount before we had to stop.

flpab

The auto train is perfect. I did it once and loved it. The roomette is small but nice and the dinner and breakfast is included. A fun trip. We have done 13 through the bay tunnel and 301. 95 is stressful.

ekscrunchy

I would take the Delmarva route. But I made a mistake above, saying you could reach NC the first night'; I forgot that you were leaving from RI.

tomfuller

Another route to consider avoiding Delaware, Baltimore and the Beltway is I-81. First night near Harrisburg, PA and the second night near Charlotte NC or Columbia, SC. I-26 gets you back to I-95 from Columbia (I-77).
When I lived in central PA this was the route I used from Melbourne FL.

vincenzo32951

Sounds good if you're from central PA. From RI, not so sure. That's a long way westward before pointing south.

doug_stallings

I think traffic is going to be worse this time than last for you. There is a bridge out of commission around Wilmington, DE, and it's causing additional traffic back-ups north of DC as well as south. Truly a nightmare. I'd certainly look into the train as an option, though you have to get through Wilmington to get to the train in Virginia.

Dukey1

Here's the blurb about the "a bridge" referenced above:

"THE PROBLEM: The Delaware Department of Transportation is telling drivers from Maine to Florida to make plans to get around a section of an interstate that’s closed because of columns that are tilting on a bridge in Wilmington.

HOW TO GET AROUND IT: The affected route, Interstate 495, parallels Interstate 95. So I-95 through downtown Wilmington is the main detour.

FROM MAINE, NEW YORK AND OTHER POINTS: Southbound traffic on I-495 is closed at the Pennsylvania state line, with traffic diverted onto I-95 southbound. Drivers traveling south from New York may want to stay on the New Jersey Turnpike, rather than getting on I-95, crossing into Delaware over the Delaware Memorial Bridge south of Wilmington and then getting back on I-95. Southbound port of Wilmington traffic is being directed to Interstate 295 east and then to Delaware 9 north to the port."

As to the stretch of I-95 from the Cap. Beltway to Fredericksburg, VA: the problem is the afternoon rush hour as much as anything and your arrival via Auto-Train would eliminate that issue.

If you REALLY want to be adventurous you could take the Delaware Rte 1 to Dover and then Rte 13 or 113 to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and then rejoin I-95.

Frankly, if you avoid the I-95 segment at the right time in Northern Virginia you'll probably be OK.

flpab

Take rt 13 through De. I have done that many times to advoid accidents flying out of Philly. The Christiana mall exit was always a mess.

Ackislander

Unfortunately, I drive this all the time.

The short version is that day of the week and time of day is all. Sundays and Fridays are the worst, Tuesday through Thursday, not so bad.

Going south, you want to hit DC before 3. Then you can use the southbound HO lanes in Northern Virginia. Unfortunately, there is massive road construction in the Aquia-Quantico area that will slow you down whenever.

South Jersey is too early to stop. It is only about 375 miles from Providence. I would suggest you press on to Ashland, VA, close to your 500 mile goal and the home of many, many motels. I would suggest you make a reservation to be sure you have a place to stay.

Day 2, you can get around Richmond and Petersburg after breakfast and settle in for the long boring ride ahead.

I often drive through Delaware and Maryland, picking up US 50 near Annapolis and reconnecting to 495 from there. I no longer drive 301 because of the narrow, high two lane Potomac Bridge. They are doing work on it, it is one way alternately, and you can sit there, up high, for twenty minutes feeling the bridge shake as traffic rolls by in the opposite direction. Plus you have to crawl through miles of suburban strip malls to get there.

flpab

I know that bridge!!!