Driving from NY on the friday of Memorial Weekend

I will be driving from NY city to Williamsburg, VA on Friday May 22 and will be leaving at 1:00pm. I have investigated what has been written here, map quest, google maps and other suggestions. In all there seems to be many places where it can go horribly, horribly wrong. I am travelling with my two children (8%26amp;10) and am hoping a savvy traffic sensitive (particularily given the long weekend and Washington realities) person to give me a definitive tested route. A tall order, yes, but otherwise the potential ';fun with Mum'; trip could be a fisco of regrets on I95. I am also left with the dreaded question of ';Is it worth it?'; if the journey is so bad. One other mention is the reality of the return. Will I encounter similar prob on Mon. afternoon? Regards, B

Driving from NY on the friday of Memorial Weekend

I can only advise avoiding 95 south of our beltway (495) through Fredericksburg. It might make sense to take US 301 to US 17 to get you into the tidewater area of VA. This will be a more pleasant alternative. North and east of DC, I%26#39;m not as experienced with (I live west of it), so hopefully someone will be able to help you out with getting from Baltimore to US 301.

Driving from NY on the friday of Memorial Weekend

Dear 2galsontour, I will be honest with you I have driven from New Jersey to the Easter Shore of Virginia, on memorial day weekend and I95 will get messey once you hit Philadelphia from there you will be in and out of back-ups if you take I95 to Rt. 13 and Rt. 1 bypass. On the bright side once you get past Salisbury, MD it will open up on Rt. 13 all the way to VA Beach (across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel). By the time you hit I64 it should be smooth sailing to Williamsburg.

I have also traveled from Pennslyvania to the Hampton Roads area on non-holiday weekends and have hit bad traffic comming down I95 and I64. I highly suggest the 301 to Rt. 17 on holiday weekends it is a bit longer driving time, but much less traffic!

It%26#39;s a long drive for just a weekend getaway, but there is a lot for you to see and do in the Hampton Roads area!

Just in case you are considering Rt 13 across the Ches. Bay Bridge Tunnel to Va Beach, then I64 to Williamsburg......I%26#39;m sorry to tell you that during the Memorial Day holiday there is not much smooth sailing through this area (other times this can be reasonable option). You would likely hit significant delays on I64 west at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and possibly portions of Newport News.

Good luck.

But, 2 projects were recently completed, which cost countless billions of dollars and several years of work: the widening of the horrible Wilson Bridge (I-95/495 at Alexandria, VA) and the complicated redesign of the Springfield interchange (I-95/495/395 at Springfield, VA). Haven%26#39;t these helped traffic flow, now that they%26#39;re open ?

MM, they probably have helped, but I%26#39;ve still seen significant delays until around Fredericksburg on I-95 going to Richmond, at various seasons, days of the week, and times of day. Just better to be prepared, and if things do go smoothly, count it as a gift!

Hello

I will also be traveling that weekend so you think it would be best to take route i-95 to 1 and 13? instead of i-95 all the way down?

PLease advise

we are trying to get there as quick as possible.

Smokey,

I think the consensus is that 301 to 17 is likely the best option. From Route 17 (after you cross over the Coleman Bridge), you can take the lovely Colonial Parkway to Williamsburg (which is what I would do) or continue a few miles until you see a sign for I64 west which will also get you there.

Happy trails

Regarding Rt 13, like GoneAgain2 mentioned, once you cross into Norfolk, and if you then need to head back west to the Peninsula, you will have miserable delays at the HRBT. You could try 664 and using the Monitor Merrimack, but I doubt it will be significantly better (caveat: for holiday weekends only, otherwise this is usually a good alternative). If you are staying on the ';Southside'; then 13 would probably be a great option.

I don%26#39;t envy anyone trying to drive on Friday before Memorial Day. If it were me, I would seriously consider leaving late Thursday night and driving straight through, or at least getting as far as possible then getting up early Friday to continue on.

And regarding the recent DC construction projects...IMO what they did doesn%26#39;t even really help alleviate daily congestion much less the huge volume increase of holiday traffic. The mixing bowl is noticeably better, but the backups have just moved further south on 95 where the HOV lanes merge back onto the main highway (5 lanes condense to 3). You can navigate onto 95 off the beltway more easily but you will still experience pain until after Fredericksburg.

Not wanting to add to your driving angst, but be aware that I-64 between I-295 and Williamsburg and Newport News can be very congested on holiday weekends -- or any time, for that matter. The road is two lanes in each direction, and one slow driver or a minor fender bender can stop or back up traffic for miles along that thirty mile stretch. If this should happen (and unfortunately, it does frequently), an alternative is to take Route 60, which is just a mile or two south of I-64, into Williamsburg. Even with heavy traffic, this route is a little more relaxed and a pleasnat drive.

Another option would be to take Amtrak from Penn Station into Williamsburg and rent a car once you arrive. It would be a far smoother ride and you could sit back and relax with the kids.

Take a look at www.amtrak.com for schedules and prices (at this moment in time it looks like you all----or y%26#39;all if you prefer---could travel roundtrip---albeit at off hours--for a little over $300).

Good luck!