# Best Way to Boston **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131 "2004-10-25T22:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/21 "2004-10-26T18:52:26Z")
Moved to IMHO. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/22 "2004-10-26T19:34:52Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > My family drives from DC to Maine quite a bit. Here’s the course we take: > > 1. I-95 North from the Capital Beltway (I-495) > 2. Either stay on I-95 through Bal’more, or take I-895 to where it rejoins I-95 > 3. I-95 N into Delaware. Follow signs to Delaware Memorial Bridge/New Jersey Turnpike. _Avoid I-95 and I-295, as they go too close to Philadelphia_ > 4. Take NJTP (it eventually becomes I-95) to the Garden State Parkway - North > 5. Take the GSP to I-87/287 South > 6. Go over the Tappan Zee Bridge > 7. Just past the bridge, watch carefully for the exit signs to the Saw Mill Pkwy. If you miss it, you can continue on I-287 to I-684 N > 8. If you catch the SMP, take it north and merge onto I-684. > 9. Take I-684 N to I-84 E > 10. Take I-84 E all the way to the Mass Tpke (I-90 E) > 11. To Boston, take I-90E all the way into Boston. > 12. To Maine, Exit I-90 to I-290 N > 13. Take I-290 to I-495 E (this will avoid Boston traffic) > 14. Take I-495 to I-95 N > 15. Take I-95 to NH and Maine. I’ve taken this exact path from DC (where I lived for some 4 years) to ME, where I grew up. It is the most orthodox route, by far, and if I had to travel by day, that’s the way I went nearly every time. Still vote for the 95-to-New-Haven rt. if one can travel by night. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/23 "2004-10-26T19:59:56Z")
I’ve driven Boston-North Carolina enough times to know there’s no good way, but that’s almost the best one. The only difference is that I find it’s a little faster to take the Merritt/Wilbur Cross Parkway between White Plains and Meriden, not Sawmill/I-684/I-84 - the distance is a little less, it’s cars only, and traffic backups are shorter than on truck routes. At night, I’ll save the tolls and take I-95 through Providence instead of the Mass Pike - it’s pretty smooth going except on Friday nights when the Foxwoods casino buses clog the route. When bypassing DC and going to eastern NC, it’s a few more miles but a lot faster to go down the Delmarva Peninsula than anywhere near DC. Route 13 comes off of I-95 just south of Wilmington, DE and quickly opens onto Delaware Route 1, a high-speed route that goes almost the length of the state (and avoids the red lights in Dover). The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel ain’t cheap, but neither is the gas while stuck on the Beltway. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/24 "2004-10-26T20:37:53Z")
**Best Way to Boston** Win the next 3 games ---
**Author:** ![wnorthr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@wnorthr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wnorthr)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/25 "2004-10-26T22:50:35Z")
From Charm city to central Conn. I almost always take AWB’s route. Late at night across the George is OK but I hate the Cross Bronx Expressway - high concrete barriers at high speed and more potholes than asphalt. With no traffic it is faster. And there’s a new highway that connects Bridgeport to Waterbury where you can connect with 84. 8, maybe. Watch out before and after the Tappen Zee. If you’re in the wrong lane it’s easy to miss. For the Saw Mill you have to take 2 exits back to back so after the first exit (off 287 I think it is) you’ll be trying to get off while people are getting on but it does save time and it’s a fun ride - high concrete barriers and high speeds (go figure). And, yes, praise the lord for easypass. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/26 "2004-10-27T13:50:52Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I’ve taken this exact path from DC (where I lived for some 4 years) to ME, where I grew up. It is the most orthodox route, by far, and if I had to travel by day, that’s the way I went nearly every time. > > Still vote for the 95-to-New-Haven rt. if one can travel by night. It’s funny: the route seems very convoluted written out. But if you look on a map, it’s varies very little from a straight-line course. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/27 "2004-10-27T14:11:27Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > I concur with taking the Saw Mill Pkwy… It has signals, and is really not designed for speeds greater than 50 MPH. Not that this stops the regular commuters from doing 70-75 on it! (I grew up within a block of the Saw Mill - our impromptu ball field was in a bowl between the parkway and one of its exit ramps.) > [@wnorthr](#): > > Watch out before and after the Tappen Zee. If you’re in the wrong lane it’s easy to miss. And if you think you’re familiar with it, but haven’t been through that stretch in a few months, watch out! Things have been changed a lot (I-287 used to peel off the Thruway to the right - now, you have to stay to the left). The last time I went through there, I had to keep my wits about me, despite having been through there literally scores of times in the past. > [@AWB](#): > > 1. I-95 N into Delaware. Follow signs to Delaware Memorial Bridge/New Jersey Turnpike. Avoid I-95 and I-295, as they go too close to Philadelphia That needs to be reworded. I-295 is actually the route that crosses the Delaware Memorial Bridge. _Before_ the bridge, you want to avoid I-95 and I-495, and stay on I-295. _After_ the bridge, I-295 splits off from the NJT. Actually, I-295 in Jersey is a nice alternative - stick with it until I-195 near Trenton, head east on I-195 about 4 miles, and pick up the NJT at Exit 7A. I-295 parallels the NJT, has no tolls, and, other than a little stretch where it blends with I-76, has way less traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/28 "2004-10-27T14:35:41Z")
We used to travel to/from Mass and NJ frequently. While the Tappan Zee way is shorter, it’s traffic dependent, as everyone has said. The best alternate route we found was 287N to 87N to Newburgh where you can catch 84 East and get across the Hudson via the Newburgh Bridge. You’re going straight North and then straight East, instead of cutting a diagonal using 684N, but you also avoid a lot of traffic and it’s a _beautiful_ ride. We’ve usually found it to be the same amount of time as taking the 684 cut. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/29 "2004-10-27T14:38:51Z")
Just to clarify, this doesn’t involve going all the way North to Albany, which would definitely not be my choice. It does work on the same principal, but you still catch 84N through CT, which is decidely shorter than going to Albany and across on the Pike. And as I said, it’s a really pretty ride through the mountains that way. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/30 "2004-10-27T15:02:19Z")
Glad I saw this thread, we’re planning on driving back from the Boston area (Taunton, to be exact) after Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/31 "2004-10-28T00:52:29Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > I concur with taking the Saw Mill Pkwy to I-684 is a relatively good shortcut, especially when there’s any kind of traffic build-up on I-287. But be careful: it’s not an interstate-grade road. It has signals, and is really not designed for speeds greater than 50 MPH. You’re right about the design - it’s kind of a 1950s’ view of high-speed roads. But (as noted above) the traffic flows at 70+, and that works for me. Three traffic lights make things interesting, but don’t usually slow you down much. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/32 "2004-10-28T01:22:26Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > You’re right about the design - it’s kind of a 1950s’ view of high-speed roads. … I think the design is older than that actually…1920s or 1930s from what my father told me. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/33 "2004-10-28T01:48:59Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > I think the design is older than that actually…1920s or 1930s from what my father told me. The first section was completed in 1926, the last, the northern end, not until 1954. Here’s [a history of the parkway](http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/). I remember it in the “good old days,” when some stretches of the parkway had no median - not even a guard rail down the middle. Lots of headlight-to-headlight crashes! ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131/34 "2004-10-29T23:27:10Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > The first section was completed in 1926, the last, the northern end, not until 1954. Here’s [a history of the parkway](http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/). I remember it in the “good old days,” when some stretches of the parkway had no median - not even a guard rail down the middle. Lots of headlight-to-headlight crashes! Your link seems to confirm what I said, that the road was designed (meaning conceived and laid out) in the 1920s and 30s, although actual construction was delayed by WWII and wasn’t completed until later. The 1950s view of high speed roads was limited access interstate highways. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-boston/271131.md?page=1)