<p>Could people who live near New Haven please comment on the traffic at different times of day on I-95? Or alternate routes? </p>
<p>When we’ve been on I-95, between 4 and 7 pm, the traffic has ranged from extraordinarily slow to stand-still, and going off I-95 to side roads hasn’t sped the trip up, either. We once spent three hours going from the Connecticut border to the exit for Yale. But when we were on I-95 (traveling in either direction) after 7 or 7:30 pm, the traffic had cleared up almost completely, and you could move at the speed limit again. (Just luck, or the general situation?)</p>
<p>What are good and bad times to be on I-95? (Thinking partly about anyone driving to Bulldog Days, or picking up students in the spring.)</p>
<p>We live east of New Haven and my husband and I both work there. We commute separately and take completely different routes to work. I favor a back route that keeps me off I-95 while my husband would rather stick with the highway to get to work. My husband often stays at work until 7PM just to miss the bulk of the traffic congestion that occurs around the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge over New Haven harbor. (Known to us locals as the Quinnipiac River or “Q” Bridge). In the past several years they have widened the approaches to the bridge by adding more lanes but the congestion still occurs. I don’t think the problem is the Q Bridge so much as the fact that I-91 comes to a “T” with I-95 right at the start of the bridge and the merging and mixing of traffic means everyone is jockeying for position and tapping brakes. (This includes tractor trailers who seem to want to go 65MPH right until the highways merge.) So on “normal days” traffic gets backed up. Throw in some slick weather and/or a fender bender and it becomes a nightmare. But you are right, wait until 7:00 or 7:30PM and it usually is clear sailing. The same problem occurs in the morning between 7AM and 9AM. After 9AM it frees up again until about 4PM. Weekends are usually fine unless there is bad weather or a fender bender to get things gummed up. </p>
<p>Alternate routes? I am not sure where you are traveling from. If from New York there is always the Merritt Parkway and you can get off it onto Whalley Avenue in New Haven (just before the West Rock Tunnel) and drive the few miles southeast on Whalley right to Broadway at Yale. (Lots of traffic lights!) But in my opinion, the Merritt can be worse. During rush hour traffic can be really bad on the Merritt if there is any kind of accident. </p>
<p>I think I-95 remains one of the best ways to get to Yale/New Haven but steer clear of M-F rush hours and be mindful of weather etc.</p>
<p>There is typically some traffic on I95 in CT, but it isn’t that bad, assuming that you don’t get personally frustrated by the situation. At most you’ll be delayed by an hour, and hit a few slow patches, just like you would in any other major city (or anywhere else on I95 between Florida and Maine). I would stick with I95. Bring a good music selection. Going an average of 30 or even 50MPH on I95 can feel like an eternity, but it is still faster than the local roads. I agree w/ the above that the Merritt can be worse.</p>
<p>The only alternate routes that are sometimes (but very rarely) faster are Rte80 and Rte1 between Guilford/Branford and downtown New Haven, as well as Rte10, which connects to Rte34 between the West River and downtown. Local residents will sometimes use those during summer weekends when traffic is at its peak.</p>