Driving help needed

[obbay]

Driving from Boston to a tournament in Philadelphia area this weekend.

Driving down on Friday afternoon, mapquest et al says its a 5 hr trip with no traffic. problem is we are leaving at noon, New Haven is about 2.5 hours away (2:30 - 3:00pm) and around boston thats about when the traffic gets bad.would I do better timing my arrival in the NY area for 6:00 pm or later. Or is there just no way to get thru there in a reasonable amount of time on a Friday?

Originally planned to leave in AM but DW has Dr appt at 11:00.

any advice is appreciated!

 

[PA SB Dad]

If you go anywhere near NYC, you are in for a long trip. I have done the trip to Boston many times from Philly. I take the Mass Pike to Worcester, 84 South through Danbury CT to the NY State Thruway (I87) south to 287 South through Bridgewater, NJ. From there you can come down route 202 South (local road, lots of lights) or cut over to the NJ Turnpike South (I95). PM me with where in Philly you need to go, but I usually go completely around and avoid NYC.

 

[murphdog]

Get the app Waze for your phone if you don't already have it.
We haven't sat in any measurable traffic in that area since we started using it.
We are from the Boston area also and go to NJ/PA multiple times a year

 

[obbay]

Thanks guys- I am going to Bensalem and I did recently get the Waze app and it is the bomb! I've only used it on one trip so far but it impressed the hell out of me! for a 2:15 trip the initial time estimate remained constant throughout the trip where my GPS was constantly changing. I can stand sitting in traffic if I know that I will get to my destination at a certain time.


hmm..."I can stand sitting..."- i said that?

 

[Jquick823]

Go across the tapanzee bridge and not the George Washington bridge. You will avoid a lot of city traffic in NYC that way. Otherwise the Garden State Parkway and Jersey Turnpike are usually pretty easy to navigate unless there is an accident. I drive up to NY from about 90 minutes south of philly regularly to visit family and rarely have traffic issues as long as I avoid NYC.

 

[PA SB Dad]

To get to Bensalem you will want to make your way to 95S and Route 1 South down around Trenton. It's a straight shot from there.

 

[T.J.]

On the way down you could get lucky on the GW, but I recommend you be on the safe side and take the Tappan Zee. Whatever you do, DO NOT take the GW Home!

There might be 84 construction in Waterbury, so you might consider taking 84 to 91 south to the Merritt Parkway (Exit 16 I think). Then take the Merritt to The Tappan Zee....naturally avoiding 95 if you can.