I need to drive from North Carolina to Rhode Island in a few hours. Am I still likely to encounter any problems finding gas up there?
Also, what’s a good route? I’m utterly unfamiliar with the area and Google Maps seems to be bent on taking me through New York City, which strikes me as a bad idea. It looks like I can stay on 81 up to Scranton or so, then take 84 east. Ignoring traffic, it’s about 25 minutes longer, but given that I’d probably be going through NYC at 4 PM, it’s probably a much larger time savings.
Gas in parts of New Jersey is being rationed. License plates ending in even numbers go on even days, and vice-versa. If you try to fill up on the wrong day you will be sent away.
And yes, driving through NYC is a horrible idea. I generally take the Tappan Zee bridge instead.
That or you could stay on 81 into Binghamton, NY and then take 88 into Albany and then 90 back down through Massachusetts. It’s a longer route but you’ll avoid any proximity to New York City that way. I don’t know what the current conditions are in that area so I can’t tell if that’s worth doing or not.
How many miles to a tank does your vehicle get? If you fill up just outside of Scranton, it’s only 270 miles to Providence from Scranton if you take 84. And from my experience, 84 is just north of the place where you’ll get heavy NYC traffic ETA: at least compared to the time you’d be spending travelling 88, (although 88 is a beautiful route.) Whereas it probably is worth avoiding NYC proper at rush hour, especially if google wants to send you along 81 for most of the route anyway
If it weren’t rush hour and Google is sending you down I-95 into NYC, then it might be worth it to try 287 around NYC. Surprisingly lacking in traffic jams the dozen or so times I’ve tried, although the traffic is still pretty bad. Plus I never take it in rush hour per se, so maybe it backs up then.
Odd-even rationing is over in NJ, if that’s a concern.
I-95 is expensive with tolls so I-81 is a good alternative if it’s not too far out of your way. I wouldn’t go all the way up to Scranton, though. You can take 81 and pick up 78 north of Harrisburg PA, and take that over to 287. If you’re feeling your oats you can take 287 to 80 to the GW bridge and 95 or otherwise stay on 287 and cross the Hudson on the Tappan Zee. Or if you’re really feeling your oats you can take 78 over to the NJ Turnpike and take that up to the GW bridge. 78 turns into a spaghetti of local and express lanes and cross-overs and construction the further east you get so you should probably avoid that.