I95/NJ Turnpike past DC - back on I 95 south of DC - at rush hour
 

Timing probably can't be avoided. Will be somewhere on I95 - between central NJ and Newark, DE for the night - midweek. Want to be in NC by mid-afternoon. Willing to leave early AM - like 6 or so, but not at 3 AM.

Have made this trip many times and usually take Del Memorial Bridge and then just try to time it and suck it up to deal with Baltimore and DC traffic and take the Beltway and then back on I95. Since coming from Boston area, have even tried taking the more western route after Tappan Zee Bridge - and that is nice thru Pennsylvania and Western VA, but turns into glorified cow paths after that.

So now that I have set up impossible restrictions, any suggestions other than just deal with the traffic?

Is there a reason that you can't stick to the road for a couple more hours so you are just a bit south of DC for the night? We would try to make it to at least Quantico when we did this and started out in the morning going against traffic. Do take the bypass around Richmond if it is even close to rush hour.

Can't leave Boston until mid-day and would rather fight DC rush hour than drive after dark thru DC - and even if I did, I would be fighting Baltimore/DC evening rush hour on Day 1.

In that case, get as far south as you can and start as early as you can before stopping for the night. Do take the bypass around Richmond, and best of luck to you.

gail, I'll be the opposing voice on taking the bypass around Richmond.....I don't think it's necessary and IME does not save time.

Washington's rush hour will long be over by the time you get there if you stop near Mt Holly as I suggested in an earlier post and leave at a reasonable hour (not 5, not 6 -- that just puts you in the Baltimore rush hour).

Washington generally goes to work early and gets off early, so 9-3 are generally easy.

If you get near Newark, there is a Hampton Inn south of 95, but you have to go a couple of miles to find anything to eat other than a sandwich. Rush hour in the Wilmington/Newark area is somewhat worse -- though much shorter -- than Washington if you need to get off. The intersecting roads are inadequate, and traffic backs up a long way at the on ramps, ditto the tolls.

We have made it from Brookline all the way to White Marsh, north of Baltimore, where a Hampton Inn and Garden Inn sit next to each other -- in a shopping center with many food choices.

I would ordinarily skip the 295 bypass around Richmond, but one lane of 95 is closed for construction north of the I 64 interchange, and it is backing up traffic significantly.

I made this trip from Boston to Chapel Hill for seven years while my kids were undergrads at UNC. I usually went down 81 to Lynchburg, then 29 and others. Now we spend the winter in Richmond and almost always do 95. The alternative is 301 down through Maryland and over the bridge into VA, rejoining 95 north of Ashland, completely missing the Washington-NVA area AT THE COST OF crossing a very tall narrow bridge across the Potomac, which I won't do in bad weather.

Have you considered the US 301 bypass of DC traffic?

Take I-895 as you enter Baltimore.
Take I-97 south towards Annapolis (you may even see a sign saying this is the route to Fredericksburg -- yes, that's correct).
When you get to US Highway 50, go west towards Washington. You'll be contiguous with US Highway 301
Stay on US Highway 301 as it heads south, near Bowie.
Continue on US Highway 301 as it cross the Potomac into Virginia.
Leave US Highway 301 at Bowling Green, getting on State Highway 207, east towards I-95.
Fill up with gas and soda at the stations where Highway 207 intersects I-95 -- it's about the best deals you'll find.

I've found this route gets you far enough from Washington traffic to make up for the fact that 301 is not an expressway. For me, ANYTHING is better than getting stuck in the latter.

Gail, Traffic on I95 between DC and Richmond has improved incrementally since the road widening projects have largely finished.

301 has its own traffic congestion issues these days during rush hour.

I check in with VDOT's 511 to see what problems are out there if I see red on my gps.

In all as you already know it's a big crap shoot.

I can tell you for certain that the very worst segment during the so-called rush hour will be between the Beltway and the Route 3 exit a F-burg. Once you get past that it will be much easier

And I agree with Janet about taking 295 around Richmond..higher speed limit and less traffic in my several passages.

As to by-passing Washington using 301 south. That can have a lot of traffic during rush hour as well and a lot of traffic lights but that might be a lot easier to endure than the crawl on 95 South

It depends entirely on what part of NC you are headed for.
From Danbury CT to Winchester VA using The PA Turnpike and I-81 from Harrisburg is only 6 hours.
From Winchester you have the choice of going through Richmond in the morning or heading on down I-81 to I-77 to go to Charlotte. The cowpath you refer to is US 17 from I-66 to Fredricksburg where you get back on I-95.
Many years ago I heard the area referred to as BosNyWash.

My NYC friend drives from NYC to about Fayetteville/Darlington in one day with no problem.

Yikes - more confused than ever, but thanks. I want to drive 6-7 hours max from north of Boston the first day. Wish I could do more miles, but departure time and my increasing difficulty with alertness alone on highway after dark prevents it.

North Carolina - going to Greensboro/Burlington area.

Have also done Boston-NC trip in one day - but with 2 drivers and leaving much earlier in the day. Just can't do it that way this time.

The "cowpaths" I refer to were from someplace in Virginia to NC - it put me approaching Burlington, NC from a western route - but if there is a reasonable way to from Harrisburg to a real road, that might be a possibility.

How about 8 hours from Woburn MA to Gettysburg PA (440 miles)?
US Rt. 15 is good from Camp Hill (Harrisburg) all the way to Fredrick MD where you pick up I-270 to hook into I-495 west of Washington to get back to I-95 toward Richmond.

Back again. Not threadsitting, but I know where you are going, and I have driven this route many times. I would look at the Google Maps route, ask for alternatives, and follow their I-81 route with one deviation: move the route away from the GW Bridge, then cross the Tappan Zee and go from there: 287, 78, 81, 29.

You are on US 29 for some time from Staunton, VA to your destination, but it is four lane and moves pretty quickly. It passes through the edges of some small cities (Lynchburg, Danville) but not through the heart of anything. Fewer trucks than on the interstates. There are places to stay around Allentown (maybe too early) then again around Carlisle and Chambersburg. Nice scenery.

Buy gas in Jersey.

I am not mentioning your destination because I assume it has something to do with your daughter's college, and I don't want her privacy invaded.

Is Rte 29 really NOT a cowpath? That may be the route I took once before. Whether or not I take that path southbound, I would take it going north since I am stopping in Roanoke and Winchester VA areas.

Most of it is like Route 3 to the Cape.

The worst of it is a congested area around Greensboro, which is farther west than you need to be anyway.

Google directions from Danville to your destination, and it will send you down 29 to NC 150 and NC 87 to the destination: one hour and three minutes.

Anything is better than I 85 and I 95 from the Delaware line to Petersburg.

I don't know if it would be a better route than Akislanders but we do Rt 1 from Newark De to 13 and down the Eastern shore. I know Newark De very well and can get you around the toll and past traffic if you do end up there. There are a ton of good restaurants and places to stay close to 95.