<p>Beach traffic going south will be heavy until early afternoon. Either be past Springfield/Woodbridge by 8 am, wait or go a different way. </p>
<p>We lived outside Augusta GA at one point. It took exactly the same amount of time to go 95-85-77-20 as it did 95-20. Which was exactly the same as going 66-81-77-20 - 8 hours from just west of DC all three ways. </p>
<p>81 is in the mountains and there are a lot of trucks, but it is usually only really bad on college vacation weekends/days - like around Thanksgiving. Going that way would add around 45-60 minutes to the drive to Florence, which you will spend sitting in traffic if you get stuck on 95 south of DC.</p>
<p>81 is way out of the way unless you want to re-route totally away from 95 through the Carolinas.</p>
<p>I live in northern VA and avoid 495 and 95 south to Fredericksburg whenever I can.</p>
<p>Here are a couple of alternatives that should be fine on a Saturday at that time of day. </p>
<p>From 495, take 66 west to 29 south, then 17 south to Fredericksburg. This should get you around most of the bottlenecks that occur on 95. There are lots of restaurants in Fredericksburg, so you can stop there for lunch.</p>
<p>OR, if traffic sounds bad all the way to Richmond, you can continue on 29 south to Culpeper, then take 522 south to 64 east to Richmond and pick up 95.</p>
<p>Since I live west of the city, this is what I know. I can’t tell you much about how things look east of the city on 95.</p>
<p>The west side of 495 is a complete mess with all the HOT construction going on in the VA section. But it wouldn’t be bad early on a Saturday morning; you just watch the signs for lane adjustments.</p>
<p>But I for sure would just cut through town on 295.</p>
<p>South of Manassas? Going which route? Manassas is off 66 which runs E/W. On a N/W scale Manassas would be about the same as Newington on 95, but it’s well to the west.</p>
<p>South of Manassas? Going which route? Manassas is off 66 which runs E/W. On a N/W scale Manassas would be about the same as Newington on 95, but it’s well to the west. >></p>
<p>I think they mean the Manassas exit, which is 152, right past Potomac Mills. Highway 234 runs to Manassas from there. That would be the same area I referred to as Woodbridge.</p>
<p>The best way to avoid traffic around DC is to get up early and start driving so that you will be south of DC by 8 AM. We always take 295 as others have suggested. I agree that driving hundreds of miles out of the way isn’t worth it. My family isn’t always happy about me piling them into the car at 4 AM, but they get to sleep while I drive, and we don’t lose any time on the road due to traffic. It’s an adventure for us/me.</p>
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m a native and drive this frequently. It can be bad throughout the weekend, specifically the stretch of 29S from Gainesville to 17. There never seems to be a rhyme or reason.</p>
<p>
Ahhh, I’ve spent my entire adult life avoiding that stretch of 95! I do a pretty good job.</p>
<p>The traffic through DC is nothing compared to that blockage north of Richmond, ime. We’re not talking 25 mph.
I did mean the Manassas exits off I-95. Roughly the area south of exit 152.</p>
<p>If it were me, rather than swing wide, I’d leave home early. But, that’s us. I love driving when it’s mostly the truckers and us.</p>
<p>Sometimes a route that takes you many miles out of the way will save time and aggravation. Some people prefer a more direct route through heavy traffic. Others prefer a longer, but more scenic or more laid back route. </p>
<p>OP, you seem to have missed posts from several of us who suggested highway 301 from the south side of the Baltimore beltway to just north or Richmond, which was specifically what you asked for. </p>
<p>There is no simple answer that will solve your question every single time. Any route can become a parking lot due to an accident or weather, or a holiday. Take a good GPS, and a paper map if you think you might want to jump off a jammed road.</p>
<p>The route suggested by a few other posters, Route 29 south from Gainsville, is a really nice alternative.</p>
<p>I am looking at last year’s annual column from the Washington Post, with advice on avoiding the worst bottlenecks up and down the I-95 corridor, and most of the suggestions have been mentioned. Here’s one more piece of advice from that column:</p>
<p>“Whatever direction you are traveling be sure to check the weather forecast as well as the traffic conditions. All the routes described in this guide are subject to fog… Virginia, Maryland, pennsylvania and New Jersey are part of the 511 information system. Motorists can dial 511 from within any of those states and get up to date information on travel conditions. Delaware is not part of that system, but has traffic updates on the radio AM 1380.”</p>
<p>I live on the east side of the beltway. The only suggestion to avoid that side of the beltway is what I suggested which is 301. Maryland isn’t as much the problem as dc south to Richmond. Unless of course you get stuck with all the backups of everyone trying to get over the Bay Bridge - though that is Rt 50 all other main arteries back up. The Woodrow Wilson bridge has been expanded, but don’t get all excited by that - go on the express lane. </p>
<p>I just drove back from Richmond last weekend and traffic was backed up both ways on a Sunday afternoon. We’re talking dead stopped traffic, not slow going, stopped.</p>
<p>Leave early, it’s your only hope. That and make sure you have an EZ pass.</p>
<p>I would take 301 through MD unless realtime traffic showed an accident or other problem along that route. It gives you the biggest break off 95 and doesn’t required you to change your time of driving. Good luck!!</p>
<p>I’ve driven 29 lots, have fond memories, and would still pick 95. Have driven 522 to Lake Anna many times and remember it as a rather confusing route- miss a sign and-? </p>
<p>I do kind of think 301 is the logical alternate, a very last-minte decision. But, wouldn’t it have the same beach issues? I remember back up at bridges.</p>
<p>Wow, a lot of opinions. In case anyone missed my post, we are traveling with THREE DOGS (two are elderly, one is a rambunctious pup) so no airplanes for us! It will take us 3 1/2 -4 hours to get to DC without traffic (it is 200 miles south of us on the Jersey Shore. We might be able to take off by 6 AM but not sooner…the dogs. Most of the roads and towns you have mentioned I am not familiar with but am google mapping this. Thanks for all the input.</p>
<p>If you are south of 100 on GSP, I would suggest taking it south to Cape May, take the ferry, then US13. It’s a quaint road (watch your speed!) and will save aggravation of 95. You can keep the dogs with you on exterior decks of the ferry on their leashes. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t take 301. Too many traffic lights take you from 50 to 0 in a few seconds and really add time to the drive. (GPS & google maps do NOT factor that in their time estimates).</p>
<p>You really can’t avoid the 95 mess - my only secret is that I approach DC from the west taking the 495 beltway into VA and then travel the george washington parkway on the west of the potomac (crossing over the bridge right into DC). A friend who used to live in DC recommended this to me years ago!</p>
<p>Because in my experience in the last couple of years at virtually any time of day you can end up taking 3-4 hours to get from DC to Richmond.</p>
<p>When driving down from CT, I preferred to go west of DC. Can’t recall the precise route, but someone had probably mentioned it here. The feasibility will depend on where in NJ you are located.</p>
<p>I know it is to miss traffic, and yes, it may well take 3 hrs. to get from DC to Richmond. It is my experience that it is not as likely to take 4, particularly when you can take the HOV lanes. If you drive 100 miles out of the way, you have added back in that hour and some. You aren’t guaranteed not to run into a backup on 81. I have driven on it a lot over the last 4 years and just happen to have been on it more than once when it shut completely down. If anyone thinks Rt. 1 is a bad alternative to 95, wait until you have to drive Rt. 11.</p>
<p>We are leaving from Long beach island. We usually do not take the GSP. We go 72 to 70 to 295 and pick up 95 south/Delaware tpke in PA, avoiding Philly. I was unaware about the Virginia traffic until recently, since our only traffic on the way up was around DC (it was about 3 pm on a Saturday). We have decided to leave earlier, as suggested, but 6 is as early as we can do if we are going to make it to Florence when it is still light. We have to stop every 3-4 hours so the pup can pee ( the older dogs can go much longer but pup is very hyper). We should hit the major traffic snarls about 10 or 11 am I guess. We are not able to drive at night without difficulty these days but that’s life. Thankfully our youngest, our college bound son, will fly home on Friday. I couldn’t handle both DS and DH and the barking pup in traffic. When we are down to only one dog ( other dogs are 14 and15 yrs old), we will fly instead. </p>
<p>Meanwhile I will call my vet and ask what dose of Benadryl will subdue pup. It is tough to concentrate when he is so unhappy in the car ( barks and cries and tries to dig in his crate). If he isn’t crated, he jumps around car or gets tangled in the dog seat belt! Older dogs just sleep quietly or look out the window. All the fuss is pup alone!</p>
I do a pretty good job.</p>