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Weekend traffic nightmare

4aprice

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I had to go from NNJ to Haines Falls NY in the Catskill Mountains this past weekend for a family event. The traffic on the NYS Thruway was just aweful. It took me 3 1/2 hours for what is normally a 2 hour trip. At times we were travelling from 0 to 10 mph with no accidents in sight. Other family members travelled from Boston and said the Mass Pike was just as bad. Traffic reports were reporting big back ups on the usual suspects (NJ Pike and Garden State Parkway) What was it with this past weekend? Did anyone else have nightmarish trips?

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

legalskier

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Mass Pike heading west between 95 and 84 @ 2 p.m. Friday was brutal. Thank goodness we were heading east.
 
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Glenn

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Traffic was pretty heavy Friday going up to VT. It's usaually pretty light from Northampton north. But there were just a lot of cars this weekend. Same with heading south last night. It wasn't really bad, just more volume. I think this is one of the last weeks for vacations since school starts soon.
 

SKIQUATTRO

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heading off LI to CT sunday afternoon was heavy, jumped off 91 in Milford, headed over to the Merrit....much better ride, but alot more traffic than i was expecting for a sunday , but i'm never on the roads on sunday or during the day for that matter...ususally on the beach all day then driving back late night...
 

drjeff

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My wife had big traffic delays on the Mass Pike Westbound yesterday around 2PM in the general 495 interchange area through the Worcester area exits as she was coming home from Natick Mall, will no accidenst in sight :(
 

2knees

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was on the cape last week. after seeing the mass pike backed up and barely moving from 495 to 84 westbound on our way there, we stayed on the cape saturday till about 3 and only hit a backup from the 290 exit to 84. traffic was backed up all the way up 25 onto 495 to get onto the bourne. love the cape, hate the traffic.
 

drjeff

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was on the cape last week. after seeing the mass pike backed up and barely moving from 495 to 84 westbound on our way there, we stayed on the cape saturday till about 3 and only hit a backup from the 290 exit to 84. traffic was backed up all the way up 25 onto 495 to get onto the bourne. love the cape, hate the traffic.

That section of the Mass Pike is a traffic nightmare so often. Much better to get off at 290 and then take Route 20 on over the the 84/Mass Pike interchange
 

2knees

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That section of the Mass Pike is a traffic nightmare so often. Much better to get off at 290 and then take Route 20 on over the the 84/Mass Pike interchange

I would agree in past years. Lately, and I think it has to do with everyone having GPS, it seems far too many people are aware of that route. We go to Boston very frequently and the last few times we've done Rt 20, its been a total nightmare also.
 

tarponhead

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I would agree in past years. Lately, and I think it has to do with everyone having GPS, it seems far too many people are aware of that route. We go to Boston very frequently and the last few times we've done Rt 20, its been a total nightmare also.

Was there last week too. Don't know where your coming from but it seems like a waste to head north (to Mass pike) then drop down to the cape. any way to shave off the north/south stuff? 195 out of Providence to the Bourne bridge is always easy for us on a Friday night.
 

bvibert

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Was there last week too. Don't know where your coming from but it seems like a waste to head north (to Mass pike) then drop down to the cape. any way to shave off the north/south stuff? 195 out of Providence to the Bourne bridge is always easy for us on a Friday night.

The few times that I've driven there we've taken a route more or less right through middle of CT/RI. It wasn't on major highways, but it got the job done. We'd also leave CT at like 2am, that helped cut down on traffic too... ;)
 

o3jeff

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I went out to the Cape mid morning last Monday and had no problem getting onto it, but did run into a little traffic on 28 while getting off it around noon which I didn't think was too bad at all.
 

2knees

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Was there last week too. Don't know where your coming from but it seems like a waste to head north (to Mass pike) then drop down to the cape. any way to shave off the north/south stuff? 195 out of Providence to the Bourne bridge is always easy for us on a Friday night.


not that i'm some big cape dweller but we've been going since i was little. my aunts have a couple of houses on the cape. i've tried every route imaginable and when you are doing a saturday to saturday, 84, 90, 495 is really the best route. with kids, its just harder to time it like we used to and to add to it, we've been renting a house in popponneset the last few years that is more kid friendly then my aunts places. we're tied into the 2:00 pm check in/11:00 am checkout that we arent held to with my families place.
 

dmc

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I had to go from NNJ to Haines Falls NY in the Catskill Mountains this past weekend for a family event. The traffic on the NYS Thruway was just aweful. It took me 3 1/2 hours for what is normally a 2 hour trip. At times we were travelling from 0 to 10 mph with no accidents in sight.

I left Hunter on Friday around 5 for the ADKs.. Traffic pretty much sucked on the Thruway - got better on the Northway..
 

drjeff

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I would agree in past years. Lately, and I think it has to do with everyone having GPS, it seems far too many people are aware of that route. We go to Boston very frequently and the last few times we've done Rt 20, its been a total nightmare also.

Nifty little NE CT shortcut for you if you're headed towards the Mass Pike off I-84, and you don't want to take either Route 44 (via exit 69{Route 74} off I-84) or Route 6 via 384.

Get off 84 at Exit 73 (Route 197) follow 197 East (you'll quickly go right by Bigelow Hollow State Park which has some really cool MTB trails! :) ) Follow 197 into Mass headed towards Webster. 197 joins up with Route 12 North which gets you onto I-395 less than 10 minutes South of the Mass Pike/290/Route 20 interchange
 

drjeff

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I went out to the Cape mid morning last Monday and had no problem getting onto it, but did run into a little traffic on 28 while getting off it around noon which I didn't think was too bad at all.

Here's how to "escape the Cape" via 28, without waiting forever at the Bourne (My in-laws live in Falmouth so I've learned the easier ways both on and off the Cape in higher traffic times over the years :) )

As your headed up 28, at the Otis AFB rotary on 28 (the one that's about 5 miles before the bridge), instead of following 28 North out of the rotary towards the bridge, go to the next turn off on the rotary - this is lakeDrive. Take Lake drive about 1/2 mile until you have to turn at a T" in the road. Take a right at the T onto Old County Road, which then becomes County Road, stay on County Road until it ends at a 4 way stop, then go staight onto Sandwich Road. Sandwich road takes you right under the entry to the Bourne Bridge and loops you around and basically right into the rotary at the base of the Bourne next to the IHOP.

Also, when headed onto the cape via the Bourne at a time when you think the traffic on the 25 approach will suck, get off at exit 2 of 25, just after where 495 and 195 dump everyone together onto 25. The exit will be for Route 6/Route 28/Wareham. Follow 6/28, and in about 5 miles, you'll be at a rotary that will feed you right onto 25 as it starts the final climb up the Bourne.
 

tarponhead

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not that i'm some big cape dweller but we've been going since i was little. my aunts have a couple of houses on the cape. i've tried every route imaginable and when you are doing a saturday to saturday, 84, 90, 495 is really the best route. with kids, its just harder to time it like we used to and to add to it, we've been renting a house in popponneset the last few years that is more kid friendly then my aunts places. we're tied into the 2:00 pm check in/11:00 am checkout that we arent held to with my families place.

Gotcha.

We also do the Saturday to Saturday house thing. But after the first year of waiting 3 hrs to cross the Bourne bridge we leave Friday after dinner now (from joizey). When the kids where small they would soon pass out and we cross the Bourne bridge around midnight and grab a motel on the cape side (Bourne Quality Inn). Wake up, wave at the traffic and eat at the IHOP. Drive east and kill the rest of the day at one of the outer beaches untill key pick-up at 3 PM (we stay at Brewster). Next Saturday is a 5AM departure. Traffic never an issue anymore.
 
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