I am making the trip from RI to NJ for Thanksgiving. It’s typically a 4 hour drive. I know traffic is inevitable, but I’m hoping to find the time to limit it as much as possible.
I’m debating between leaving after work on Tuesday at around 6pm. When I was in college (also from RI to NJ) it took us 10 (!!) hours. My other option is to wake up early and leave at around 8 am on Wednesday morning. My thought process behind leaving on Wednesday is if I’m going to sit in traffic, I’d rather it be during daylight.
Would love to hear everyone’s opinions. Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to travel from RI to NJ. Which would have less traffic?
Kit said:
I would leave much later on Tuesday or much earlier on Wednesday.
You ever thought about a Thursday leave if you’re driving? Once you get out of the airport traffic of your own city it’s usually smooth sailing to the next destination.
Why can’t you leave at 4am? We used to drive from New Jersey to Chicago and I would get everyone up at 3am and be on the road by 3:30. It feels as if you get a whole extra day at your destination.
Tarian said:
Why can’t you leave at 4am? We used to drive from New Jersey to Chicago and I would get everyone up at 3am and be on the road by 3:30. It feels as if you get a whole extra day at your destination.
Tarian said:
Why can’t you leave at 4am? We used to drive from New Jersey to Chicago and I would get everyone up at 3am and be on the road by 3:30. It feels as if you get a whole extra day at your destination.
Tarian said:
Why can’t you leave at 4am? We used to drive from New Jersey to Chicago and I would get everyone up at 3am and be on the road by 3:30. It feels as if you get a whole extra day at your destination.
I’m 30+ minutes east of Providence. Leaving a couple minutes after 3am, I’ve made the Tappan Zee/Cuomo bridge before 6am. I was going to Colorado so I’m headed towards the Delaware Water Gap. The George Washington Bridge is usually OK at 6am depending on where you’re going in New Jersey. I’ve crossed the GW at 6am heading to Philly and wasn’t delayed.
Personally, I’d leave RI at 8pm if I were headed to North Jersey.
Tarian said:
Why can’t you leave at 4am? We used to drive from New Jersey to Chicago and I would get everyone up at 3am and be on the road by 3:30. It feels as if you get a whole extra day at your destination.
I like this idea a lot! My only concern is that “extra day” is going to be countered by my exhaustion. I guess I could try and sleep 8pm to 3am?
@Remi
Will you be able to sleep at your destination? Leave at 4am get there around 8am or 10am depending on traffic and take a nap around 2 or 3.
I think it’s a push; if you’re able to drive straight through at 4am you’re going to be more energized than if you get a little extra sleep but get stuck in horrible traffic.
How about leaving at 11pm? That’s the most quiet time on the road. Truck drivers have stopped for the night and traffic is very light. Take a nap, have some coffee, and drive.
Micah said:
How about leaving at 11pm? That’s the most quiet time on the road. Truck drivers have stopped for the night and traffic is very light. Take a nap, have some coffee, and drive.
When I used to make the Phila. to Maine trip, I always revolved the trip around the rush hours, especially NY and the infamous GW bridge. It was usually a nightmare. Once through it, the rest was easy for me. Don’t know how you are traversing, but stay off of 95 if you can. Google Maps is good and will keep you away from the slow-moving jam-ups, etc., and often I took routes that were very pleasant and always seemed to get me to my destination.
@Blane
And btw this was a round trip; the same applies for the return trip. Each city has its issues, but nothing compares to that bridge. Cross Bronx Expressway and Northern NJ. Southern CT is no joke either. Do you travel on the Merritt Parkway? That road is like the Indianapolis Speedway.
Micah said:
How about leaving at 11pm? That’s the most quiet time on the road. Truck drivers have stopped for the night and traffic is very light. Take a nap, have some coffee, and drive.
@Remi
My son travels from CT to NJ often and always travels after 8pm, or else mid-day. Forget traveling on the holiday itself, though. Of your options, I’d choose Tuesday night, leaving at 8. Idk RI traffic, but 7 might be enough.
@henrycar
Interesting. I’ve been advocating for on the day, but I live in the western USA. Are things clogged up on the roads in the east on Thursday?
Things out here are usually pretty empty on the roads on Thanksgiving mid-morning time. You’ll get more local traffic in the evening as people staying local head to friends or back home from local relatives or even the movie theater or toward the airports… just typical commutey kind of stuff. But it’s way easier to travel out here on Thursday than on that damned Wednesday from hell.
@Skyler
I travel within NJ - going south to north - on Thanksgiving Day (about 1.5 hours). The roads are busy, but not at a standstill, and it takes closer to 2 hours to get where I’m going. Getting from CT to here is a nightmare though. To cross the Hudson River, a person has to choose between the Cuomo bridge or the George Washington bridge. All the traffic from anywhere northeast of NYC gets funneled into these two spots, and they both basically spill out into NJ onto two main north/south arteries (the Garden State Parkway or the NJ Turnpike). Traveling north to south is always worse I imagine due to population density in NY suburbs. By the time a person hits central NJ, the traffic is manageable.
@Skyler
It can be clogged up in the western US too. A few times I have driven from Oakland up to Healdsburg on Thanksgiving morning, and traffic was pretty heavy and slow north of Novato on 101. It might be better now since they’ve done a lot of road work there the past few years, but there are definitely places here and there that clog up even on Thanksgiving.
