I looked up directions on Google Maps, and this shit has me running up through Newark and then across the Bronx to get up to the Boston area. I cannot imagine that this is anything but a terrible idea. Has anyone done this drive or know of a better drive up?

I am taking a large moving truck with some of my family in my SUV behind me. I'm lobbying to try to ride through the middle of the night just to make this drive the slightest bit tolerable, but even then I imagine cutting up through that area would be a nightmare. Maybe I'm wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

http://goo.gl/maps/Atuk

[Edited on July 19, 2010 at 11:44 PM. Reason : link]

7/19/2010 11:35:24 PM

the last time i drove to MA i took I-95 all the way up. it wasn't as bad as everybody made it sound

though, i didn't have a kid at the time b/c that makes a difference. and you'll def want to do your best to avoid ending up near a big city at rush hour (remember, DC rush hour starts at like 4 am)

[Edited on July 19, 2010 at 11:48 PM. Reason : ]

7/19/2010 11:48:14 PM

Amy and her mom will be going up separately within 24 hours after, though some of this info will help her too. I'm thinking we may leave around 7-9 pm and we'll get in 8-10 am and likely going the opposite direction of traffic, maybe... I dont know.



[Edited on July 19, 2010 at 11:55 PM. Reason : thanks for the edit, G.]

7/19/2010 11:55:01 PM

I've made this trip twice now, once with a truck and once with a car.

I've avoided going across the George Washington Bridge both times because that seemed like a clusterfuck with moving truck, but I-95 is generally is the fastest way, if speed is your main concern.

So, if you are going for speed I'd take 95 up through New Jersey, and then right before the George Washington you can take the Palisades Pkwy up to the Tappan Zee bridge and go 87 to 287 and connect back to 95 in CT.

If you just want to avoid Jersey, Deleware, tolls, etc and are willing to take an extra hour or so to do so, then heading north from DC or Baltimore into Penn and taking 81 to the 84 is a much more relaxing drive.

I've always taken 2 days to do it though, cause I hate driving more than 8 or so hours a day.

7/19/2010 11:55:43 PM

How much am I looking at total for tolls, you think. Ballpark is fine. I notices if I didn't ride along the CT/RI coast, there are even more tolls. I'd like to not pay a ton of tolls for both cars, but it's just money. The route I posted is maybe 10-15 miles longer than the Newark/Bronx route, but only has like 2 toll sections vs like 10 for the suggested route.

7/19/2010 11:58:51 PM

Quote :

"the last time i drove to MA i took I-95 all the way up. it wasn't as bad as everybody made it sound "

Yep same. I do the drive at night so you don't have to deal with traffic. It's what my family from up there does as well when they come down to visit.

Most miserable car ride I ever had was from Cape Cod to Raleigh with my great-grandmother's stupid cat in the back seat yowling the whole way

^ I wish I could remember but it's been a couple years since I've driven up there. I want to say around $30? The truck is going to cost more than a car though probably.

If the area you're moving to is going to have you driving on toll roads with any sort of frequency, I recommend applying for an EZ Pass and using it on your way up there. I love using the Fast Lane when going up north

http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Highway/fastlane/main.aspx

[Edited on July 20, 2010 at 12:03 AM. Reason : a]

7/20/2010 12:00:13 AM

That route you posted is a pretty good one I think - not sure whether Philly traffic will be an issue or not there, but that gets you up to the Tappan Zee without having to dealing with the Palisades with can be tricky.

I wouldn't go into RI, the I-90 tolls aren't that bad. Delaware kinda sucks though - something like $6 for the privilege of driving through their state. You should be under $15 total though I think. Yeah ^^ for a truck $30 is prolly right

[Edited on July 20, 2010 at 12:07 AM. Reason : .]

7/20/2010 12:06:27 AM

do most of the toll roads require cash, or do most take cards...

It looks like theres not some uniform E-ZPass that you can use for all states. It looks like they each have their own, and I had a hard time finding any information that would apply to all the states I'm going through.

7/20/2010 12:17:39 AM

^ Wat. You get the pass for the state you live in and it's valid on all the toll roads that matter.

Quote :

"Where can I use the FAST LANE? Your FAST LANE transponder can be used in Massachusetts and on these EZ-Pass equipped toll facilities (map of states where transponder can be used): Massachusetts Turnpike (including the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels) Massachusetts Port Authority (Tobin Memorial Bridge) MBTA/Amtrak Parking Garage (FAST LANE transponders only) New York State Thruway Authority: Entire Thruway including the New Rochelle Barrier, Yonkers Barrier, Tappen Zee Bridge, Spring Valley (commercial only), Harriman Barrier, City Line Barrier, Black River Barrier and Grand Island Bridges. Port Authority of New York & New Jersey: Bayonne, George Washington and Goethals Bridges, Holland and Lincoln Tunnels and Outerbridge Crossing. Metropolitan Transit Authority Bridges and Tunnels: Bronx-Whitestone, Cross Bay, Henry Hudson, Marine Parkway Gil Hodges, Throgs Neck, Triborough and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges and Brooklyn-Battery, and Queens Midtown Tunnels. New Jersey Highway Authority: Garden State Parkway. New Jersey Turnpike Authority: New Jersey Turnpike. South Jersey Transportation Authority: Atlantic City Expressway. Delaware Department of Transportation: Interstate 95 and Route 1. Delaware River Port Authority: Commodore Barry, Walt Whitman, Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross Bridges. Delaware River and Bay Authority: Delaware Memorial Bridge. Maryland Transportation Authority: Francis Scott Key Bridge, Fort McHenry, William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge, Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge, John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway and Baltimore Harbor Tunnels. West Virginia Parkways: West Virginia Parkways - Economic Development and Tourism Authority: West Virginia Turnpike. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission: Pennsylvania Turnpike. Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority: Peace Bridge. New York State Bridge Authority: Bear Mountain Bridge, Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, Mid-Hudson Bridge, Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Virginia Department of Transportation: Dulles Toll Road, Dulles Greenway, Coleman Bridge, Chesapeake Expressway, Powhite Parkway, Boulevard Bridge. Maine Turnpike Authority New Hampshire Department of Transportation-Bureau of Turnpikes: Hampton, Hooksett, Bedford. Illinois State Toll Highway Authority: North-South Tollway, Tri-State Tollway, Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, Northwest Tollway. Indiana Toll Road Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority: Claiborne Pell Bridge (Newport Bridge) Ohio Turnpike Commission: Ohio Turnpike Important: When you open your FAST LANE account, you must wait 3 days before using your new FAST LANE transponder to travel on EZ-Pass equipped toll facilities outside of Massachusetts."

I mean really, where else could you be possibly driving to

Yes you can use your credit card but you're going to be adding a bunch of time of sitting at the window waiting for them to run your card. Total pain in the ass. Just pull out $50/car cash before you leave and that will be MORE than enough to pay your tolls.

7/20/2010 12:27:01 AM

Do I have to already live in MA? I don't think NC has ezpass.

7/20/2010 12:29:52 AM

If you have an address in MA I would use that on your application form. If you apply from NC, they'll process you through the NJ office but then you have to pay a stupid $5/month fee unless they've changed that over the years.

7/20/2010 12:36:04 AM

I drove from Raleigh to northern Maine in 22 hours through VA beach to pick up my sister, that was about $29 one way in tolls, but thats including the Chesapeake bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge, which was like $12. We used cash the whole way, most booths say cash or ezpass only.

7/20/2010 12:50:31 AM

Thanks for all the help guys. my dad's friend was hawking him about taking the Garden State Parkway, but it runs closer to Newark than my planned route. Assuming we drive through the night, will driving my planned route (roughly 30 mins longer per google time) actually take longer because theres no traffic to be cutting off?

7/20/2010 2:10:30 AM

Weekend if possible

7/20/2010 2:46:50 AM

^^^taking the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is WAY out of the way if you're mainly going up I-95. I would not recommend going that way. Do not take the Garden State Parkway at this time of year. It's what everyone uses to get to the beaches in NJ so given that its summer time this is not advisable.

I'd definitely get an EZPass if you have enough time beforehand (when are you making the trip?). Not only will you save time going through tollbooths but you also get a discount on every toll you pay. I can't speak for driving in CT, RI or MA but the roundtrip cost of tolls for me from Raleigh to NYC is usually around $45-50.

If you drive up in the middle of the night there's no reason not to cut across the GWB and take the Cross Bronx Expressway. Or if you have any way to check real time traffic info (GPS, Google Maps, etc) then you can always check out the traffic conditions in advance and modify your route as such. Also, what's wrong with driving through Newark? The NJTP through Newark has never been backed up with traffic the countless times I've driven on it (with the exception of when they did construction a few yrs back).

One final piece of advice I'd like to give you is once you are midway through NJ tune into radio station AM 1010 (1010 Wins). They do a traffic update every ten minutes for all the major highways, tunnels, bridges, etc.

7/20/2010 9:16:30 AM

Quote :

"One final piece of advice I'd like to give you is once you are midway through NJ tune into radio station AM 1010 (1010 Wins). They do a traffic update every ten minutes for all the major highways, tunnels, bridges, etc."

that or 101.5 FM which is the NJ talk radio/music station. they do traffic every 13 minutes or so and also cover all the major arteries in and around NJ.

and take it for what it's worth but this is how i used to go from Raleigh to Northwest Jersey: 440 to US1N (capital blvd), to I85, to I95 all the way up through the rest of VA-MD-DE, NJ turnpike in Jersey until where i got off to go west. as for you, i would say continue on NJ turnpike all the way up and over the GW Bridge into NY. then jump on I87N to I287. i would say go with the hutch/merritt pkwy off I287 but it is a very windy 2 lane only highway (quite dark and dangerous at night) and so you may not want to go that way. so i suggest taking I287 out to I95 and take that right up the coast all the way.

[Edited on July 20, 2010 at 9:45 AM. Reason : .]

7/20/2010 9:34:00 AM

I just drove to CT and back and took 95. I've done this trip countless times over the years and pretty much always take 95. Driving at night is quicker but run into more construction.
When we go to upstate NY we take 81.

I've made it to Hartford, CT in 9 hours but 11 is the norm now (traveling with a kid requires more pit stops).


I hate the GW bridge. I go 95- NJturnpike, Gardenstate pkwy (it was fine last week), tappan zee, 87, 287

total tolls is between $10-$15 (I think). You will want a few dollars in coins, quarters and dimes.
EZpass is worth it.
thankfully they changed the polls on the GardenState so you're not tossing .35 every few miles.

7/20/2010 10:06:41 AM

from what I've been told by my family, ezpass is also tied to a particular vehicle, so i wouldn't be able to just toss one in the moving truck, then into my wife's car once we get there. if anyone can verify otherwise, that might be the last convincing tidbit necessary to get off my lazy ass and register for one.

Though, we are going in the middle of the night, so I don't know how annoying the tolls are going to be.

7/20/2010 6:17:50 PM

i spent around $30 in tolls when i moved from charleston to cape cod, ma. took i-95 the whole way as well. make sure you have lots of cash!! i even had to turn back once i saw the 'last exit before toll" sign for the turnpike. i dont remember paying tolls in VA, maybe i got lucky. did charleston-yorktown, va in one day, then yorktown to providence, ri. then it was a quick hop over to cape cod from there.

boston has some shitty traffic. depending on the time of day, you may see some.

7/20/2010 6:54:29 PM

^^ Incorrect. You go on EZ-Pass's website and enter the license plate number of the rental vehicle into your transponder information and you're good to go. This is what we did when we rented a moving truck up there to bring down to Raleigh.

Quote :

"taking the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is WAY out of the way if you're mainly going up I-95. I would not recommend going that way. Do not take the Garden State Parkway at this time of year. It's what everyone uses to get to the beaches in NJ so given that its summer time this is not advisable."

Only time the CBB is worth it is when traffic is horribly messed up on I-95. I had to do that once when there was a nasty accident on I-95 and it saved me a lot of time. Otherwise there really is no point in cutting across to the bridge.

7/20/2010 9:13:55 PM

Quote :

"i dont remember paying tolls in VA, maybe i got lucky"

VA (at least on I-95) has no tolls. MD has a toll going southbound. DE has a toll both ways (assholes). The entire NJTP and GSPW are toll roads, so the fee depends on how long you travel on it. Every bridge around NYC (on an interstate) has a toll, though some are only one way. Beyond that I dunno.

Also, I recommend US 64 to I-95 in NC over US 1 to I-85. The distance is about the same but cops love pulling people over on I-85 in VA.

7/20/2010 10:28:59 PM

^^yeah I didn't make it clear that the only reason we took the bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge was because we picked up my sister in virginia beach. woulda cut 2+ hours off the trip to go straight up 95 in normal traffic

7/20/2010 11:31:46 PM