Guesstimate on the crowds this weekend.

[The Sneak]

Or getting stuck behind 18-wheelers on 2-lane Vermont roads with no hope of passing. Flashbacks. Bad flashbacks.

This was me Tuesday, coming home from K. 2 fuel tanker trucks, one behind the other, giant rolling roadblock on 103 all the way from Ludlow to Rockingham.

 

[4aprice]

OMG, this post made me realize I havent had to think about or deal with hours of traffic on I-87 in eons.

Or getting stuck behind 18-wheelers on 2-lane Vermont roads with no hope of passing. Flashbacks. Bad flashbacks.

When you think about it, it's really amazing how poor access to Vermont from NY is so piss poor. I mean take your pick, 7 out of Troy or 149/4 out of South Lake George are really your 2 major accesses both 2 lane nightmares. You could go over the bridge near Vergennes or completely over the top (if you going to Jay) but they are just as bad. Not sure which state to blame because both 7 and 4 open up once in Vermont (me thinks NY is the culprit). Hey but at least one can stop at the store that sells all the Vermont swag in NY

We'll see what I-87 has in store for us tomorrow night. I have seen some pretty significant tie ups on that road on big weekends like this one. It's still got a ways to catch up with the "Canyon Chaos" or "I-70 mayhem" but its not insignificant either.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i dont really have gripes with 87. and i know BG is on the other side of the wasatch but i sort of chuckle at a utah person talking about the bad ski traffic in the east. significantly shorter distances to drive with significantly more traffic for weekend skiing in utah and most major western ski cities. and the interstate in colorado is just a total joke every peak ski period.

87 is a major major road connecting montreal to new york city with many major populations in between. its just a crucial artery of life and commerce that goes way beyond skiing. if i leave the city around 5 on a friday, i hit traffic getting out. i rarely ever sit in traffic on 87 on sunday on the way home. weather or massive accidents maybe. but usually a straight cruise til i get into the nyc metro which is just always a bit fucked.

getting from 87 to 7 is def annoying and not something i like to do in bad weather. i tend to go 95>91 if weather is a concern.

 

[kendo]

When you think about it, it's really amazing how poor access to Vermont from NY is so piss poor. I mean take your pick, 7 out of Troy or 149/4 out of South Lake George are really your 2 major accesses both 2 lane nightmares. You could go over the bridge near Vergennes or completely over the top (if you going to Jay) but they are just as bad.

I take 87N to the Essex NY - Charlotte VT ferry and avoid the long stretches of 2 lane VT roads and inevitable trucks, or slow traffic. Works out great for trips from C-NJ to N VT, and back again. Usually zero traffic getting from 87 to the ferry ramp in Essex, and a short 2 to 4 lane drive from Charlotte to Burlington.

Current Schedule

Notes: The Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY ferry crossing is our Southern crossing offering spectacular views of the Adirondack and Green Mountains. Crossing time is approximately 25 minutes; 3 …

ferries.com

 

[kingslug]

Driving around vt was great..probably the most unstressfull state ever.
Utah...oh boy....

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I take 87N to the Essex NY - Charlotte VT ferry and avoid the long stretches of 2 lane VT roads and inevitable trucks, or slow traffic. Works out great for trips from C-NJ to N VT, and back again. Usually zero traffic getting from 87 to the ferry ramp in Essex, and a short 2 to 4 lane drive from Charlotte to Burlington.

Current Schedule

Notes: The Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY ferry crossing is our Southern crossing offering spectacular views of the Adirondack and Green Mountains. Crossing time is approximately 25 minutes; 3 …

ferries.com

done that once. experientially fun but i felt it added a lot of time to my trip

 

[cdskier]

i dont really have gripes with 87. and i know BG is on the other side of the wasatch but i sort of chuckle at a utah person talking about the bad ski traffic in the east. significantly shorter distances to drive with significantly more traffic for weekend skiing in utah and most major western ski cities. and the interstate in colorado is just a total joke every peak ski period.

87 is a major major road connecting montreal to new york city with many major populations in between. its just a crucial artery of life and commerce that goes way beyond skiing. if i leave the city around 5 on a friday, i hit traffic getting out. i rarely ever sit in traffic on 87 on sunday on the way home. weather or massive accidents maybe. but usually a straight cruise til i get into the nyc metro which is just always a bit fucked.

getting from 87 to 7 is def annoying and not something i like to do in bad weather. i tend to go 95>91 if weather is a concern.

87 is way overdue for being expanded to 3 lanes between Albany and Harriman.

That said, the only time I ever hit "hours" worth of traffic on I-87 was driving home after the eclipse.

Really never had a major problem on 149 or 4 either.

 

[kendo]

done that once. experientially fun but i felt it added a lot of time to my trip

yeh, timing it to hit the ramp <5 mins before departure is crucial.

I'm ok with a bit of extra time to avoid dealing with 95/91 or 2 lane traffic, and at the 6hr point in the drive, the time on the ferry is pretty cathartic.

 

[urungus]

This was me Tuesday, coming home from K. 2 fuel tanker trucks, one behind the other, giant rolling roadblock on 103 all the way from Ludlow to Rockingham.

Annoying, but it’s only 22 miles from Ludlow to 91. If you usually average 60mph on this stretch that would take 22 minutes. If the trucks slowed you down to an average of 35mph that would take 38 minutes. So 16 extra minutes (and I suspect it was less than that since averaging 60mph is unlikely), not really a huge deal compared to hours long backups on I70 in Colorado or the canyons in Utah.

The backup I find most annoying is returning from Killington and trying to get through the merge of the cars leaving Okemo in Ludlow.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

Annoying, but it’s only 22 miles from Ludlow to 91. If you usually average 60mph on this stretch that would take 22 minutes. If the trucks slowed you down to an average of 35mph that would take 38 minutes. So 16 extra minutes (and I suspect it was less than that since averaging 60mph is unlikely), not really a huge deal compared to hours long backups on I70 in Colorado or the canyons in Utah.

The backup I find most annoying is returning from Killington and trying to get through the merge of the cars leaving Okemo in Ludlow.

we never drive home from Sugarbush via 100 for this very reason. Ludlow should be avoided at all costs on Sunday afternoons in the winter. Much smarter to cross over to 89/91 via any number of roads.

 

[4aprice]

getting from 87 to 7 is def annoying and not something i like to do in bad weather. i tend to go 95>91 if weather is a concern.

I avoid CT like the plague. That 50 miles between Greenwich and New Haven is impossible on a Friday night. I have gone up to the Mass Pike and over to 91 to get to NH. Its about 1/2 hr longer then 95 to 91 with no traffic. but on a Friday night its faster

87 is way overdue for being expanded to 3 lanes between Albany and Harriman.

That said, the only time I ever hit "hours" worth of traffic on I-87 was driving home after the eclipse.

Really never had a major problem on 149 or 4 either.

I've seen the Thruway grind to a halt here and there but I agree it's not "hours". Used to get bad at times on the way home when they had the toll barriers at Harriman but its now pay by plate//ez Pass so you don't see that back up much anymore.

Trucks on those NY-VT cross roads like BG said can be a real PITA.

 

[Zand]

OMG, this post made me realize I havent had to think about or deal with hours of traffic on I-87 in eons.

Or getting stuck behind 18-wheelers on 2-lane Vermont roads with no hope of passing. Flashbacks. Bad flashbacks.

It's legal to pass in VT on a double yellow.

 

[Keelhauled]

Not sure which state to blame because both 7 and 4 open up once in Vermont (me thinks NY is the culprit).

The story I have heard was that when Rutland was bypassed by 87 and 89 it was promised divided highway access via 4. Vermont followed through and New York backed out.

 

[slatham]

Luckily my route is Taconic to 22/7. No trucks on Taconic, I know the cop spots, lots of passing areas on 22/7. Way more peaceful than 87 and especially 95/91. But that route is very specific to where I live and ski.

 

[skiur]

I take the taconic when I know that 95 or the merit are going to suck and do enjoy it except for the damn cross traffic. Seeing a car drive across the Pkwy just isn't right!

 

[BenedictGomez]

i sort of chuckle at a utah person talking about the bad ski traffic in the east. significantly shorter distances to drive with significantly more traffic for weekend skiing in utah

Ummmm...... for me this is..... demonstrably as false as possible.

The only time I face anything even remotely akin to "traffic" is Saturday morning, if it has snowed Friday night, and only on 224/248 (the main Park City artery). But even then, it's not really "traffic" compared to NY/NJ, as it only delays me maybe 3 to 12 minutes tops. And that's as "bad" as it ever gets. In general it is blissfully traffic free on the Wasatch Back.

 

[BenedictGomez]

It's legal to pass in VT on a double yellow.

But often nigh impossible, or unsafe.

Which is another issue I have which is VT-22 specific, has anyone noticed many passing lanes on 22 are set-up as if completely by random?

There are places where it would be completely safe to pass with a long viewing distance that are double-yellow & thus illegal to pass, and then there are some places where it's broken-yellow legal to pass, but which are insanely dangerous to do so on. As in the worst I've ever seen anywhere.

 

[BenedictGomez]

The story I have heard was that when Rutland was bypassed by 87 and 89 it was promised divided highway access via 4. Vermont followed through and New York backed out.

Interesting; that would explain the weirdness of that section if true.

 

[JimG.]

Luckily my route is Taconic to 22/7. No trucks on Taconic, I know the cop spots, lots of passing areas on 22/7. Way more peaceful than 87 and especially 95/91. But that route is very specific to where I live and ski.

This is my normal route north to VT as well. I will go out of my way to 87>149>4 when weather sucks.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Ummmm...... for me this is..... demonstrably as false as possible.

The only time I face anything even remotely akin to "traffic" is Saturday morning, if it has snowed Friday night, and only on 224/248 (the main Park City artery). But even then, it's not really "traffic" compared to NY/NJ, as it only delays me maybe 3 to 12 minutes tops. And that's as "bad" as it ever gets. In general it is blissfully traffic free on the Wasatch Back.

I literally acknowledged that you’re on the other side in the post you selectively quoted to argue. Ski specific traffic is worse in Utah than … i87. lol.