Hi- I need to drive from Philadelphia to the Richmond VA area on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I can't leave until about 12:30pm. Am I insane to be driving through the DC/Northern Virgina area on I-95 at that time of day? My plan is to get to Chester, VA by about 6pm. Any advice. Will I-95 be jammed? Thanks fo any insights.

Yes, you're nuts to consider it. However, there are several threads describing alternatives to I-95. Anything you can do to avoid I-95 between Balt. and Richmond is worth it. Look on a map for rtes. I 97, 5 and 301 through Maryland and into Va. You can even get all the way to I 295 outside Richmond without ever going on I-95. Or search on I-95 here.

Why two posts on this? Did you "lose" this one?

This is a miserable corridor at holiday time -- suggest you avoid I-95 altogether if you can. It may look like going through Landover, Md., etc. will take extra time, and it would if you were comparing empty roads. But we've saved hours by avoiding the DC-Fredericksburg bottleneck.

Thanks. Someone told me my title should be more specific, hence the 2 postings.

Hi

If you're headed south (as we often do) try taking Rt 3 south from Baltimore's 695. At Bowie Md it will become Rt 301 and you can follow that across the Potomac and connect back onto I-95 near Doswell or Fredricksburg. If you'll look at a map you'll see the route I'm describing.

There are more traffic lights in Waldorf but it is still a much easier drive than standing in traffic in I-95 around DC and Virginia's mixing bowl.

There are some major construction sites going on the beltway from Maryland into Virginia as well as a new bridge being constructed right next to the Wilson bridge too.

Have a safe trip