rumrunn6

gonna drive down & back from New England (Boston "Metrowest") to D.C. & I'm planning on crossing the Hudson via 287 & the Tappan Zee Bridge to avoid the whole NYC thing. this brings me further West & around the Western outskirts of Philly via 287, 78, 476 then joining 95 thru Baltimore

does that all sound OK? or should I find my way to 95 up in Jersey, then taking 295 past Philly on the East side?

I'm more concerned about construction / rush hour / accident traffic jams than distance. I expect be crossing the Hudson approx. 8am Friday morning

loonykathy

My suggestion would be to take the Tappan Zee, then take 9W south to 46 West to the NJ Turnpike (95).

eabeaj

I make this trip a couple times a year (live outside Boston, family in DC area). I take the Tappan Zee then the Palisades Parkway to the NJ Turnpike. I don't think it's necessary to go as far out of the way as you are planning.

AngeloDolce

I don't do this as often as @eabeaj, but I generally follow a similar route, using the Garden State Parkway and the NJ Turnpike By the time you get past the Hudson, the Philadelphia traffic should not be too bad. Unless there are specific traffic issues the day you travel, I think using I78 will cost you more time than it will save, and I295 or I95 won't have any more traffic than I476.

indyfabz

Sounds like a miserable ride, not to mention illegal.

FBinNY 

If coming through the New York area anytime other than rush hour, take the Palisades Parkway south after crossing the Hudson, and rejoin 95 south then take the SOP turnpike route straight to DC.

The turnpikesecond are far and away the fastest route between NYC and DC.

RECfromPA

My family is at the intersection of Rte 287 and 80. I live downtown Philadelphia and work northern most part of Philadelphia. I'm really familiar with this route and the traffic on I95 thru Philly.


If you are going down 287, I suggest 287 to 202 to 31 to I95 on the PA Side. It's a little slow thru 202 and 31, but is a pretty ride and really is the fastest ride because it's direct. Rush hour in Phila will be over by 9:30 am. ASSUMING no accidents.


Another option if you take 287 is 287 to 206S to I295 on the NJ side. This will bring you thru Princeton, a very nice place to stop off. With this, if you want to stay on the NJ side after Princeton take I295 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, rather than 95 on the PA side. I don't think either one would make a difference.


If you take FBinNY's suggestion of the Palisades Parkway rather than 287, yes, NJT will be best.


Download Waze on your phone. It will route you the fastest way at the time you're traveling because it knows the traffic. You said you'll be going down Friday and I'm not sure if you meant today or "a Friday."


Safe travels.

rumrunn6

thanks for the suggestions, wound up taking 95 East of Philly after all. got on the road 4:40 am Friday & home before dark Monday

we left a little later than planned but still crossed the Tappan Zee by 8:05 & it was a cake walk. going back home we used the GWB at around 2pm with no delays. freaking expensive tho

Wifey used Waze off & on. uses too much data but seemed accurate when warning of vehicles on the side of the road but got annoying when Wifey fell asleep with it on & out of my reach

986 miles round trip. parked the car for 4 days & used our feet walking up to 6 miles a day & also a cpl rides in ride-share cars (my first). traffic was modest. some of the bridges gave Wifey panic attacks

on the way home we went thru a tunnel (895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) been thru tunnels before but never got this graphic on my GPS before. usually the map just kinda freezes where I vanish into the ground. wonder if the highway we were on transmitted a special signal for it. anyway thought it was cool & asked Wifey to snap a pic



almost used the city bikes a cpl times but they didn't fit into out logistical plans

FBinNY 

For future reference, and for the benefit of others planning a similar trip.

Because of how the tolls work, locals go west over the GWB, and east over the Tappan Zee, when all other factors are about equal.

There's also a sizeable discount for EZ pass, so it's worth having even if you only cross these bridges occasionally.

njlonghorn

This is what I was going to suggest. It is a good compromise between swinging further west than necessary and getting too close to NYC traffic.

There are some back roads to use as additional shortcuts, but I'm not going to tell you about them because they are popular with cyclists and I try to keep cars off of them.

dendawg

78 can be a nyc rush hour nightmare depending on time of day and your direction. East bound congestion in the mornings, west bound evenings.