Trip from the Meadowlands, NJ area to Washington DC area question

If I were to journey from the Meadowlands area of NJ and wanted to get to Maryland, just north of Washington DC, is there a way to go by car and avoid all the traffic on 95 on a weekend? Or, would sucking it up and going 95 still be the best way?

in NJ, your choices are the NJ Turnpike or Garden State Parkway. Usually, one or the other is better on traffic but it alternates and it's by-ear & neither is ever drastically better.

In MD, you have more options in that you at-least can skip the cities with 895 and 495 (respectively the Baltimore-Beltway and the DC-Beltway) and by taking the Balt-Wash Parkway.

Where north of DC? There's a big difference between W. Monty Co., E. Monty Co., PGC, Columbia and Frederick. They'd all be described as "just north of DC"...pretty much anything south of Baltimore is. People don't realize how close Baltimore and DC really are; like 25 minutes in light traffic or 1 hour in traffic.

when you cross over the bridge you can take Rt 13S down to Odessa. Pick 299W up which will plop you on 301.

It's a nice way into Maryland and there aren't that many redlights. I think once you get into Maryland (just north of Anapolis) you can get on route 50 which takes you into western DC.

Also, you can take Route 40 down thru Maryland instead of 95 but you still have to pay $5 to cross the bridge near Aberdeen. If you do take Route 40, when you cross the bridge ask for the yearly sticker. I don't think it costs anymore to get the sticker and you'll be able to pass over that bridge on the way back without being charged (you're suppose to stick it in the inside of your window but I just flash it when drive by)

when you cross over the bridge you can take Rt 13S down to Odessa. Pick 299W up which will plop you on 301.

It's a nice way into Maryland and there aren't that many redlights. I think once you get into Maryland (just north of Anapolis) you can get on route 50 which takes you into western DC.

Also, you can take Route 40 down thru Maryland instead of 95 but you still have to pay $5 to cross the bridge near Aberdeen. If you do take Route 40, when you cross the bridge ask for the yearly sticker. I don't think it costs anymore to get the sticker and you'll be able to pass over that bridge on the way back without being charged (you're suppose to stick it in the inside of your window but I just flash it when drive by)

is the actual destination

Any other way would be both longer mileage wise and consume more time.

Leave early as possible.

Since it's a four hour journey, leave about 4-5 and the trip will be just fine

and, unfortunately, we won't be able to leave that early from NJ

There is a new Inter-County Connector toll road, don't know how much of it is opened at this point. But whenever I went from BWI airport - north of DC - to Rockville, I took the Burtonsville exit, to go on Good Hope Road straight into Montgomery County. It by-passed the Beltway and although it gets congested around rush-hour, it beats Beltway congestion by a long shot.

Thats not near where he needs to go (College Park)

And I would be prepared for traffic no matter what. 95 entereing Delaware WILL BE BACKED UP. Plan on it taking you at least 30-40 minutes at that bottle neck. I've never NOT hit traffic around that toll booth because of on going construction which has eliminated lanes. My advice is GET AN EZ PASS FOR THE TOLLS. It will allow you to get into the fastest lane.

we have an EZ Pass.

My dad had this thing against the NJ turnpike (he still does and I rarely drive that road yet take the Parkway all the time as I live by it), so the first time I went to Philly, he sent me on 287 to route 206 and then I picked up 95 after crossing the PA border (no tolls either as I did not have EZ Pass then).

What about taking Amtrak? That's what I did when I went to DC last year for job training.

too expensive for 5 people, and then we'd have to rent a car in DC anyways.

either the Eastern PA Turnpike extension which drops you off in Delaware, and then take I-95 on down to College Park.

Or you could just continue on I-78 west to Harrisburg and then take I-83 south to the beltway around Baltimore to I-95 south of Baltimore.

What time of day are you traveling?

and we went to visit relatives in Maryland, we always took the NJ Turnpike to 301 South. And when I first moved down to Annapolis, Maryland, I always took 50-301 north to Dover, Delaware and on up the Turnpike. If you decide to take that route, it's pretty easy to get to College Park. Take the NJ Turnpike to the end. Cross the Memorial Bridge and look for signs for 301 south. 301 in Delaware had been a quiet back road, however they have been renovating it for years and I think it's mostly highway type driving now. I remember when you would make a right down a residential road that had a cattery on it. I always loved looking for that sign. But I digress. Take 301 into Maryland and just before you cross over onto Kent Island, it becomes 50-301. Take 50 - 301 over the Kent Island Narrows bridge and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. In Bowie, Route 301 splits off from Route 50. You stay on Route 50 to the Capital Beltway Route 95/495. Take the Beltway towards Baltimore. The exit for College Park is roughly 6 miles from where you got on the Beltway, if you want the Route 1 exit, #25, down into College Park.

As for avoiding traffic, there is always traffic no matter what route you use. This weekend part of the orange and blue lines on metro are shut down which may impact Beltway traffic some. However, generally, I have found the Turnpike, 301, 50 routes not too awful with traffic. Good luck however you decide to go and have a great weekend.

you would be crossing the Bay Bridge against traffic, which will be very easy compared to the traffic jams going the other direction.

We came back this way at Thanksgiving time from Princeton, NJ, and it was only 10 miles longer than up I-95. 301 is a little slow in Deleware, but a wide divided and fairly empty road once it crossed into Maryland.

I never took 301 before until I was driving home from Virginia Beach last year Memorial Day weekend. It was and I was taking the scenic routes and decided to take 301 home. It's a great drive, very few red-lights and you can pretty much do 55-60 the entire time. Only problem - there are no gas stations or ANYTHING along that route. By the time I was 10 miles outside of Odessa, my bladder was bursting. I ended up popping a squat along the side of the road. Thankfully it was 1 in the morning so very little traffic but I was paranoid that Jason would come running out of the woods with his chainsaw ready to slaughter me - :scared:

...in the other direction.


:yoiks:

It may suck in Delaware, but depending on what time you go it may be manageable

Unless you were talking about a Friday Night...then your fucked