# How quickly could you get onto an Interstate Highway from home? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721 "2006-08-07T17:30:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/1 "2006-08-07T17:30:27Z")
Assuming normal traffic during “rush hour” (include lunch time if it’s heavy in your area) how long would you expect it to take you from wherever your vehicle is usually parked at (or near) home to the nearest access to an I-something road? If you know the mileage to that ramp, or can estimate it, what is it? In my case, I could expect to be on I-65, roughly 2 miles away, in less than 10 minutes even in “heavy” traffic. There’s no way to be sure, but even in an emergency evacuation I ought to be able to get there in less than 30 minutes. Other interstates in this area are I-24 and I-40, but I-65 is the one I’d head for if there was some special reason to get away from home in a hurry. Bonus question: is there some other road you’d take in preference to an interstate if you just had to get out of your area immediately? If so, what road? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/2 "2006-08-07T17:32:00Z")
It would take me about 10 minutes to go from my home to I-80. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/3 "2006-08-07T17:37:12Z")
5 minutes. It is about 5 city blocks from me. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/4 "2006-08-07T17:38:54Z")
I-295 is about five minutes away. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/5 "2006-08-07T17:42:04Z")
Rush hour traffic? Probably 30 minutes. Mapquest confirms that it’s about 10 miles. (OK, that may not be the closest interstate, just the one which comes to mind fastest because it’s the one that I used to leave town most recently). If I just needed to get out of town, and presumably away from the major population center, there’s a large county road a mile or two away that I would take instead. However, answer from first paragraph takes me North, answer from second paragraph takes me South, so knowing what I’m trying to accomplish is important. The other possible choice for closest interstate would take me East. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/6 "2006-08-07T17:51:18Z")
It’s about 2 miles so 10 minutes if the lights are with me, 15 if they aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/7 "2006-08-07T17:52:16Z")
I-287 (Cross Westchester Expressway) is 3 miles away. Typically takes me about 10 minutes to reach it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/8 "2006-08-07T17:54:13Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > However, answer from first paragraph takes me North, answer from second paragraph takes me South, so knowing what I’m trying to accomplish is important. The other possible choice for closest interstate would take me East. Good observation. It would make a good deal of difference in choosing which road to take if there were some special reason to be leaving your home. For the sake of the thread, let’s pretend there’s been some news bulletin saying that the nearest major population center (city or big town or the like) will blow up in x-amount of time and that all citizens must evacuate immediately to save their lives. My choice would have to be I-65 south and I could expect a logjam on it for at least 20 miles. Crawling speed sort of thing. Icy weather already demonstrates that interstate travel is hazardous, but at least the extra lane(s) makes the risk worth taking. All the smaller roads are going to lock up tighter than Dick Tracy’s hatband in no time. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/9 "2006-08-07T17:55:50Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > In my case, I could expect to be on I-65, roughly 2 miles away, in less than 10 minutes even in “heavy” traffic. There’s no way to be sure, but even in an emergency evacuation I ought to be able to get there in less than 30 minutes. Ditto, except it’s I-87. I used to live in a place where it took 20 minutes in normal traffic to get to an interstate. 20 minutes! Never again. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/10 "2006-08-07T17:57:24Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > For the sake of the thread, let’s pretend there’s been some news bulletin saying that the nearest major population center (city or big town or the like) will blow up in x-amount of time and that all citizens must evacuate immediately to save their lives. What if I already live 45 miles from the nearest population center? I can get to the nearest Interstate in about 20 minutes. There is no “rush hour” out where I live. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/11 "2006-08-07T17:58:15Z")
I-10 is 4 miles from my house. I have about 5 ways to get there. If we are using the “nearby town blows up” scenario, I wouldn’t use the 10 anyway. Backroads over the hills and into the mountains are a lot quicker and a lot safer. Besides, I can always off-road when I need to. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/12 "2006-08-07T17:59:23Z")
I-287 in 20 minutes from zero. But for an evacuation? Head north away from the City on the Taconic in five. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/13 "2006-08-07T17:59:40Z")
About 3 minutes. Which I resent, being rural and all. They built the damn highway much too close!! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/14 "2006-08-07T18:11:36Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > About 3 minutes. Which I resent, being rural and all. > > They built the damn highway much too close!! Don’t you just love to be tooling along the interstate and notice all the properties right adjacent to the roadway with the nearest access maybe 5 miles or more away? Some service road or worse the only way to get there? And they probably paid beaucoup money for the right to have traffic noise and stink without any of the benefits of the road itself. This has always bugged me. ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/15 "2006-08-07T18:14:00Z")
I can get to I-495 from my house in about 10-15 minutes, even during rush hour. But since I-495 is the DC Beltway, during rush hour it’s much worse than the local surface streets, so it would be of dubious value for a quick getaway. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/16 "2006-08-07T18:17:04Z")
I can get to either I-81 or I-76 (the PA Turnpike) in between 5-10 minutes, depending on traffic. But since the Turnpike access is usually clogged with truck traffic, it’s pretty much worthless unless I need to go east or west. Robin ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/17 "2006-08-07T18:18:36Z")
About ten minutes to I-45, by a couple of routes. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/18 "2006-08-07T18:18:36Z")
In my hometown, where “rush hour” is nonexistant and the highway is a few blocks away, less than 5 minutes. Where I currently live, where rush hour can be a little more tenacious and the highway is 15 miles away, I give it 20 minutes under ordinary conditions and probably at least an hour under get-your-ass-out-or-you’re-dead conditions. I could also go another direction where the highway is 52 miles away, but it would likely be less congested (if it isn’t, though, I’m screwed since it’s one lane in each direction). My time on that one under ordinary circumstances is about an hour…with congestion I’d give it more like two. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/19 "2006-08-07T18:22:53Z")
Generally, I can reach the nearest interstate (I-270 around Columbus) in about 10 minutes. But, if it were just a matter of getting away from the metro area as fast as possible, I’d just drive across I-270 and northwest up US-33 (which is near interstate standard for about 30 miles). ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721/20 "2006-08-07T18:25:23Z")
It would take me about an hour or more, plus border-crossing time. (I would have to drive from Toronto to the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge over the Niagara River, which connects to I-190.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-could-you-get-onto-an-interstate-highway-from-home/367721.md?page=2)