NJ to MA on Christmas Eve - Please Help!
 

Hi! I'm planning on traveling from NJ to MA on Christmas Eve (Saturday) and I'm trying to figure out what time of day and what route would be best. I have 2 small kids, so I'm trying to minimize the amount of time we're stuck in the car! The planned route is the Garden State Pkwy to 287/87 to 684 to 84 to the MA pike. Usually I get up really early and try to beat the rush, but where it's on a Saturday this year I'm not sure if everyone will be doing the same thing. Any thoughts?? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

your route choice sounds fine to me. I think the Tappen Zee will be a better choice than the George Washington on a weekend like that. So its a good route.

I honestly don't know when the worst traffic will be, but if I had to guess I'd say your idea about leaving bright and early is a good one. People just don't seem to get an early morning start so much, so that seems like the sagest bet. Sure, you might get some traffic in MA in late morning, but I don't think it will be too bad.

I agree with china_cat that your plans seem very reasonable, and the route is excellent.

You may run into mall traffic in Danbury and Hartford, but I don't see it being as big an issue as 95 might be through Fairfield County.

Where in Mass do you need to be? The Mass Pike can get a bit jammed at the 84/90 interchange as well as at the 495/90 interchange. We may be able to assist with alternate routes with a tad more info.

I don't think you'll run into crazy holiday traffic, as I would think that peak time would be Friday night, not Saturday night over that weekend.
Of course, youll hit some traffic, but I think you'll be fine following the route you outlined.
As for china_cat's comment about the Tappan Bridge, the route the OP mentioned would include that bridge.

yes, Howard, I was agreeing with Shannon's post that the TZ was a good choice as opposed to the GW Bridge.

Best route. My guess would be that most people are where they are going already by Christmas Eve day - no one will work a full day 12/23 and then leave then.

If you do not have a toll transponder, (EZPass) get one - that will save a bit of time and a lot of annoyance, especially on Garden State Parkway where they seem to want silly amounts of coins every 5 miles.

Thanks everyone! We're heading to Worcester, but I'm less worried about the MA end of the trip - we're from that area and we'll be able to jump off the pike if it gets too backed up. I was more worried about other traffic hotspots - I know we've had trouble in Hartford in the past. Good point that most people will be heading out on Friday. Thanks again, and happy holidays to everyone!

Avoid Rte 9 just on the eastern edge of Worcester - they are doing some sort of never-ending road and bridge work and road is down to 1 lane at times. Much of the time there are just lane closures without evidence of work being done.

We always take the GWB when heading to Ma but we leave early, when there is nobody on the roads. I have learned it is well worth it to be out of New York by 7am and it is clear sailing all the way. We leave from south Jersey by 4am so by 7am we are over the GWB.

To piggyback on this thread for anyone who might be planning to come up to Boston on I-95 through Providence on Christmas Eve, the Patriots are playing in Foxboro at 1 PM.

This is likely to create heavy traffic all day long but particularly when the game is over.

Excellent point about the Patriots - for those of you not familiar with the Stadium location, it is southwest of Boston but will effect traffic on I 93, I95, and I 495 in that general area from about 11 AM Christmas Eve day until about 1 PM and then again from 3:30 PM to 6 PM. Traffic has been terrible this season. (And if anyone is in the area, wave to DH and his sister, who will be stuck in traffic like everyone else - a brilliant move on my part to get her out of my hair on most of Christmas Even)