I will be traveling to MB EARLY Sat Morning Sept 13th. I plan to leave around 2/3 AM. I will be leaving from Newark NJ. Can anyone recommend the fastest way to get to MB with the least amount of traffic? Mapquest has me going on the GSP-%26gt;I95 but I am afraid I will get alot of traffic in DC area as other posts have stated.
Best Route from North NJ to MB
Leaving at that time you will hit DC at around 7 am on a Saturday morning. That is a good time to be driving through. You should not encounter much traffic.
Best Route from North NJ to MB
This is my standard post on this subject. If you take 95 down,
Take exit 2 off I-95.
Hwy 130 out of Rowland, NC for 6 miles then right on Hwy 904 in the small community of Fairmont, NC.
Hwy 904 to Fairbluff, NC, Left through town and then right on 904 again into Tabor City, NC.
Hwy 701 out of Tabor City, NC into SC and left on Hwy 9.
Hwy 9 all the way in to Hwy 17 for NMB or the 31 bypass to MB or all the way to 544 for Garden City and Surfside Beach.
This route is mostly 2 lane country highway, but the fastest I%26#39;ve found. I will admit I do go over the 55 mph speed limit out on these roads. I probably average 65 MPH the whole way. There is also almost NO TRAFFIC this way. The small towns you encounter on this route are just that, SMALL. You are through them in no more than a few minutes.
I would stick with 95 South all the way.
Newark is about 4 hours from the MD/VA highways near DC that you will be getting there around 6-7am. There isn%26#39;t anything going on then. And the only bad thing that can happen is an accident which if you see or hear about one once there, there are plenty of alternate routes along the 495/95 corridor. There will be a ';little'; slow down right at the Wilson Bridge for all of the people trying to look over at the National Harbor or are too scared to drive close to the barrier walls they have up (the lanes are really narrow here between exit 4 and 2)
Hope this helps.
I didn%26#39;t say in my previous post, but thats exit 2 in NC.
We just traveled from South Jersey to MB this past week and experienced the WORST traffic ever through Virginia on 95. We left NJ at 6AM, and returned from MB at 8AM - both Saturdays. We sat in bumper to bumper congestion for about 2 hours on the way and for more than 4 hours! on the way back.
For my next driving trip down through Virginia, I will definitely be looking for alternate routes.
abcmanzer is correct, if you don%26#39;t time it right the traffic is the worst from the Dc loop to around Richmond in VA. BUT since you%26#39;re leaving between 2-3, the earlier the better, you shouldn%26#39;t hit the bummper to bumper traffic.
We are headed down on Friday. We should hit Baltimore at around noon. Should we take 295 from Baltimore through Washington? Also how about 295 around Richmond mid afternoon?
Thanks Snake
I always get on 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway) at Baltimore and take it straight through Washington. When you reconnect with 95, after Washington, get in the left lane in hope that the HOV lanes will be open going south.
Richmond is more problematic. I prefer to take 95 straight through town; but, on a Saturday afternoon, it could be packed with local traffic.
I wouldn%26#39;t suggest 295 in Maryland, there are many lights and the speed limit is only 50.
But I also take the 295 bypass of Richmond, similar road as 95, but speed limit is 65 straight thru.
Traffic lights? Gosh, I drive 295 frequently from B-more through DC, and I honestly do not remember any traffic light on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Although the parkway is not a high-speed road, it moves along well and saves time and frustration over the I-95, which is multilane and packed with trucks.
Judge for yourselves from the MD 295 and DC 295 links -
www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/md-295.html
www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/dc-295.html
