<p>Just want to say - I’ve been stuck on 95 south of DC a few times - going 25 miles an hour would be heaven. It was more like sitting without moving – or moving occasionally at 5 miles an hour – for hours. One time we were going down to Busch Gardens. We timed it so we’d get to DC after PM rush hour. It didn’t matter. It was like a parking lot. We thought we’d get there that night but we gave up, got off the nearest exit and stayed at a motel. </p>
<p>I live near Phila. and am used to traffic, but DC/NoVa traffic is a whole other circle of hell.</p>
<p>seiclan: D just did this trip (to SC) last Thursday from the shore…</p>
<p>Sooo, we were given a website to check out the construction pattern on 495 (Wilson Bridge project) and cleared that by the time she hit it…</p>
<p>We forgot to check 95 S construction in Virginia; it was awful…Spotsylvania, around Fredricksburg…all the way from the 495/95 interchange to Richmond…25 MPH would have been fast…you may want to check out the weekend construction schedule for that span as well…</p>
<p>We also have to do this trip on the 23rd; you can’t do what we are doing though; leaving at night…I will definitely check the construction schedule, but not sure there is alot we can do; that project has been going on for years…</p>
<p>It really is almost a “you can’t get there from here” situation. I have been making the drive from Baltimore to Richmond, regularly, for over 20 years. I don’t think there is a route I haven’t tried. None of them are great choices. It has, on occasion, taken 7 hours.</p>
<p>So, not to hijack, but now that you mention it, we do live in NJ where we could take 78 to 81S to 64E to pick up 95 in Richmond… Is 64 a 6 laner?</p>
<p>Has anyone ever done this? How much longer does it take? Im even thinking it may make sense to do this on the reverse trip…</p>
<p>We have done 81S all the way down to NC but then cut across local roads; yuch…not doing that again…</p>
<p>Does anyone else think I’m nuts to suggest heading down the DelMarVa & using the Bridge Tunnel to Norfolk & then cutting over to 95 just north of the NC border? (yes, the Bridge Tunnel can be its own place in hell…)</p>
<p>Just did the Google map thing…from Beach Haven NJ to Florence SC is 608 miles or 10h50m via 95. Using US13, it’s 648 miles or 12h17m. (the Cape May ferry cuts the mileage to 585, however you may not be able to get reservations for Saturday this late in the game)</p>
<p>Been living 27 years in NJ and the family in DC wonders why we rarely visit anymore…I think I need to send them links to this thread! (of course they never take us up on our invitation to come to NJ, but that’s a whole different thread)</p>
<p>Don’t have time right now to work up the mileages - but maybe 81 to 77 through Charlotte and then over to Florence on 20? Any other reason you need to be on 95? </p>
<p>It may be really out of the way (too far west) but I avoid 95 always and 64 on summer weekends if I can.</p>
<p>Alternatively 81 to 64 east to 295 south around Richmond to 95 may be a good option.</p>
<p>Rodney, I don’t know where you’re talking about in New Jersey, but just to see what happens, I put from Newark to Richmond in on Mapquest and came up with about 333 miles on I95. Then I changed the route to 81 and it went to 482 miles. That’s almost 150 miles out of the way. You would have to hit some really bad traffic to justify that. I’m not saying you might not. You also have to travel on 81 - one of the most dangerous highways in the country. I would sit in traffic on 95 rather than choose 81, but that’s just me.</p>
<p>It is easy to go to Mapquest and drag the route on the map to check out the mileage differences on any of these suggested routes.</p>
<p>We frequently drive from CT to the Myrtle Beach area and back (MIL lives there). Last time (February, I think) we took the Bridge Tunnel on the way north. We were in no particular hurry, and decided at the last minute to take the scenic route. Distance-wise, it was probably the same, but the roads were much slower (traffic lights, driving through towns, etc). We enjoyed it more than sitting in DC traffic though! Except for the part when we drive past the gift shop/rest area and said, “Oh, we’ll stop at the one on the other end of the tunnel” Grrrr. </p>
<p>Of course, like I said, it was February, no beach traffic to consider then…</p>
<p>Yup! Us, too! (I used to live outside Augusta) We are in the MD burbs of DC – we do the 66-81-77-20 route. As long as we are out of town before rush hour it’s pretty decent.</p>
<p>nj2011 - if you go down the coast you will be stuck in beach traffic all the way down. </p>
<p>C’mon people - lol - 95 S to 895S to 97S to exit 7 - 3S which turns into 301 which takes you past Fort AP Hill let’s you out just north of Richmond. Not out of the way, not a ton of lights, just avoiding 95.</p>
<p>We are headed from central NJ through Raleigh NC (need to drop something off) and then over to Wilmington. We will go after Labor Day, either the Tuesday or the Wednesday. I have used the 301 route and the lights are not too bad. I am curious about what to expect for traffic on a week day right after Labor Day. Do we need to avoid the Beltway and I-95 down through Richmond? Anyone have an opinion?</p>
<p>We live in Springfield, VA, home of the famous 495/95 “mixing bowl”. If you can get to this point by 1 pm on a Saturday or Sunday in the summer you will make decent time going south, 45 minutes to Fredericksburg, 90 minutes or so to Richmond. If you get here an hour earlier even better. After 1pm-ish it could be bad. Of course this is assuming there are no accidents. Usually the worst traffic is between here and Fredericksburg. Once you are past Richmond it should be smooth sailing. Most people are heading east on 64 at Richmond for the Virginia and Outerbanks beaches. 95 at that point will be easy. All those other routes are way out of your way. If you leave NJ by 8 or so you should be golden.</p>