Mark_Olson

Our family is going out east for the first time. We are taking in highlights, visiting family and doing some business at the end. We are driving from DC to VA, to Philadelphia, to NY, Quincy and Salem, ME, Boston, NJ, PA and back to DC. We've read about horrendous driving, and having lived in L..A., know how important the "when and route" can be. Any suggestions, for any portion of the trip is appreciated.

HappyTrvlr

Make plans to avoid driving near these major cities during rush hours, both morning and night...Washington,DC,Philadelphia,NY,Boston..

emalloy

What time of the year are you going?

There are several "parkways" which do not allow large trucks and usually have easier driving conditions than the interstates. Baltimore to Washington has a number but I forget what it is and from NYC to Boston, cross county to the Hutchinson river pky in NY that runs into the Merit in CT if you are going that way, usually better than I-95 unless there is an accident.

Another from NYC is to go up the Garden State or Sawmill and connect to the Tappan Zee bridge then to either the Merrit or the road that goes to I-84.

Find the local radio stations that give traffic reports regularly. In the CT area it is AM station 1080.

Mark_Olson

Thanks so much. We'll be there the end of Oct. begining of Nov. Just FYI...

nytraveler

Near NYC the traffic station is 1010 am. Rush hour is 7 - 9:30 am and 4 to 7 pm. But - it really depends on which direction you;re going - if you're headed in a different direction from the traffic it won;t be as bad. At that time of year there shouldn;t be too much construction - which can be the major issue - for instance if the 5 line road is limited to 4 you're in real trouble.

Also - you need to plan where/how to cross the Hudson - since this can be a huge blockage.

I agree to use Parkways where you can - since avoiding the big trucks can make life easier - but the driving may be very different than what you're used to, since they were built as pleasure roads (for Sunday afternoon drives in the 1920's) - narrow lanes, small or no shoulders, very winding and twisty, trees close to the side of the road - and very short on-lanes. I love driving them - think it's a lot of fun - but they're not made for SUVs, but smaller, better-handling cars.

Jaya

The greater Boston area highways are the worst weekdays from about 3:30pm to 6:30pm, but it depends on which roads you will be on. Morning commute traffic is rough too and clears out usually by 9:30am.

That said, some roads are clear if you are going away from the rush hour traffic.

sobster

In addition to the above-mentioned 1010Wins for traffic and weather on the 1's there is 880 CBS on the 8's

emalloy

One other thing, if you can arrange your lodging to be on the side of the city that is going away from down town when you take off for the next one, life will be much easier.

Ackislander

In Boston, the traffic station is 1030 with "traffic on the 3's" but since you won't know any of the alternative routes, it won't do you that much good unless you have a GFPS that will do alternate routes.

I travel from Virginia to Boston (and back) very regularly. Northbound, Washington is not a problem after 9:30 AM. Take 295, the Baltimore Washington Parkway, to Baltimore from the east side of Washington to avoid trucks. Follow the signs to go through the tunnles and get back in I-95. The signs are good, the maps are confusing. Ignore your GPS through here since it wants to send you the same way as everyone else's GPS.

In Delaware, take the Delaware Memorial Bridge and New Jersey Turnpike rather than stay on I95 through Philadelphia. It is a toll road, but there are few trucks below Philadelphia.

Around New Brunswick, NJ, start listening to 1010 for NYC traffic. If it sounds bad, get off on the Garden State Parkway northbound at Woodbridge and cross the Hudson at the Tappan Zee. In practice, if you hit the George Washington Bridge by 3-3:30, it is fine.

If you want to go to Boston via Hartford, look for the Hutchinson River Parkway, which becomes the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. This becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway near Milford, and it will take you almost all the way to Hartford with no trucks. Commuter traffic on the Merritt becomes heave shortly after 4, though. If you want actually to go to Quincy, it is best getting off onto I-95 at Milford and taking the coastal route. Traffic isn't bad after New Haven or maybe Branford.

Gasoline is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts than in Maryland, Delaware, New York or Connecticut. I can easily make it from Richmond to Boston with a fillup in mid-Jersey.

In my California driving experience, traffic often backs up on the entrance ramps to freeways. In the east, ramps are generally clear (most places do not have traffic signals on ramps) but the traffic on the freeway may be unmoving. Expect a lot of cross lane movement, and the breakdown lanes are often in use, legally and illegally, as traffic lanes.

Finally, you mention going to Salem, MA. DO NOT drive there before Halloween. It is a madhouse, and all parking is filled by 9ish. There is a commuter train from Norh Station in Boston, and there may be a T bus from Haymarket. Inquire locally.

hawksbill

There is yet a third New York traffic station. To summarize all three that I know about:

AM 1010 on the 1's
AM 1130 on the 5's
AM 880 on the 8's

Mark_Olson, we might be able to help you more if you could be more specific about your itinerary. For example, are there any particular places in Virginia, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania that you want to go to? Or is the idea just to hit DC, NY, Philadelphia, and Boston? Are you planning to spend time in New York City, or just drive through on your way up North? And "ME" is the abbreviation for Maine, but I think maybe you meant Quincy and Salem, Massachusetts? I really wouldn't characterize either of those cities as a major tourist destination, by the way.

Mark_Olson

Thanks so much. As for itinerary, we're hitting DC, Phili, then Quincy. We were hoping to see Salem on the morning of the Oct 30, because most of the itineraries for happenings there only go through the end of the month, and we'd like not to miss the festivities/events. Obviously the city doesn't close on Nov 1, but it does seem to shut down a bit. Perhaps we're misinformed?

We are making a day trip to friends in Maine, then back to Salem (if we missed it on the way up,) Boston, a quick tour bus/boat through NYC (but not spending the night there,) and back down to PA to take in Amish country.

Thanks to everyone for the traffic stations, (we'll have GPS with us and are fairly good with maps,) and especially routes and times to travel. It is really helping us with our last minute plans.

emalloy

re Salem on Oct. 30, be aware that parking will be a real problem in town. Locals get stickers so that they can park on the streets. Consider hitting town that day by train and walk 10 minutes or so to town. Sometimes the traffic is backed up on 128 at the exits for Salem at that time of year. You might be able to park at the train station, but you would have to be very early there too.

hawksbill

Ah, I see. You didn't say how much time you're spending on all this, but wow, you're doing an awful lot of driving. I divide my time between New York, Boston, and Boston's northern suburbs. I drive back and forth all the time, but I don't know so much about the segments outside of that corridor. Here are my thoughts:

1. Get yourself a transponder that you can use to breeze through the toll lanes without having to wait in long lines. You probably have a California one, and I guess maybe it will work in DC, VA, NJ, PA, CT, MA, and ME. If not, order an EZ-Pass transponder through the mail. If it's too late for that, I think you can probably stop in some office along the way and pick one up. It will be worth a considerable investment of time to skip the cash lanes.

2. On the way north, you'll be bypassing New York City entirely. When I do that, I always take the Tappan Zee Bridge, never the George Washington Bridge. I guess I must defer to Ackislander, who apparently does this drive more often, and says the GWB will be okay if you get there by 3 or 3:30 PM. Try to get there earlier than that, though, because the evening rush hour traffic from NYC out into Westchester and CT will be pretty awful if you're in it. If you do take the GWB, your GPS will probably direct you to stay on I-95, on the Cross-Bronx Expressway, to the New England Thruway. You must not do that. In my experience, the Cross-Bronx Expressway is always a mistake. Instead, take I-87 (Major Deegan Expwy/NY Thruway) to the Cross-County Parkway Eastbound, then get on the Hutchinson River Parkway and follow Ackislander's instructions. If you learn of any traffic problems on that route and you're feeling adventurous with your GPS, you can substitute the Henry Hudson/Saw Mill River Parkway or Bronx River Parkway for your North/South route, and you might even use I-287 as your east-west route. But it's unlikely that any of that will be necessary, unless there's a Yankees game in progress. The Major Deegan goes right in front of Yankee Stadium.

3. Leaving New York, follow Ackislander's excellent instructions and take the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Merritt/Wilbur Cross Parkway. The Merritt/Wilbur Cross is a nice, scenic, tree-lined divided four-lane highway with no trucks, and with easy-on/easy-off gas stations. It's almost always a better way up the coast than I-95, however, it (like I-95) gets crowded in this direction during the evening rush hour. Also, because it's narrow, it gets easily blocked up if there's an accident or construction. If you find traffic and are feeling adventurous, you can always jump over to I-95 and even back again, if you want. US-7 and CT-8/25 are the best ways to do this. But try to avoid I-95 before New Haven as much as possible.

4. I'm not sure why you're going to Quincy. I'd certainly skip it, unless I had friends or family there or something. If you're really going there, then follow Ackislander's instructions, crossing from the Merritt/Wilbur Cross to I-95 at Milford. If you decide to just go to Boston, then stay on the Merritt/Wilbur Cross to I-91 -> I-84 -> I-90. You'll be going through Hartford, which has its own morning and evening rush hours, though they're not nearly as bad as New York's and Boston's rush hours.

5. I spend a lot of time in Boston's North Shore suburbs, and I wouldn't be all that excited about visiting Salem. Admittedly, it will have a unique vibe during the Halloween period, but if you arrive after that, I'd be strongly inclined to skip it and spend the time in Boston, or somewhere else. For example, there are some charming New Englandy towns on the shore in that area, like Marblehead, Rockport, and Newburyport.

6. I don't know how far up into Maine you're planning to go, but it's a big place, so I hope you've checked your travel times. Most trips from Boston into Maine are too long to do as day trips. Although Kittery, the closest town, would be only about an hour from Salem.

7. On your way back to New York, you can basically just reverse my "skipping Quincy" route from above. It sounds really ambitious to me to drive into New York City, do a boat or bus tour, and then drive right out again without staying the night. Especially if you end up having to fight a lot of traffic to get into and out of the city. If you're really going to try it, I think the bus tour would be a far better idea than the boat tour.

8. On your way out of New York again, you'll have three options for crossing the Hudson River: Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, and George Washington Bridge. Which one you take will depend on what part of the City you're leaving from, and how big the traffic delays are at each one, so be sure to check the traffic before you leave. It would not be surprising to find two-hour delays at one crossing or the other during the evening rush hour, and it's often worth going way out of your way to avoid the traffic. The GWB will probably be considerably out of your way, but if you go that way, you can treat yourself to a nice view by driving up the Westside Highway on your approach.