Best Car Route into KP

Heimertime

5-Year Member
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Apr 6, 2011
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I was wondering if anyone has discovered the best route through NYC to get to USMMA from New Jersey and South. Have been there several times and have been screwed on the Cross Bronx, Shore Pkwy, Verazanno, and 495 Routes......
 
I was wondering if anyone has discovered the best route through NYC to get to USMMA from New Jersey and South. Have been there several times and have been screwed on the Cross Bronx, Shore Pkwy, Verazanno, and 495 Routes......

You have tried them all, it's a crap shoot .... the only fairly sure bet is to choose lightly traveled times, either late at night or very early in the morning
 
Yep you can get tied up on any one of the routes, the best thing to do is start listening to the local NY-NJ Radio and adjust your approach accordingly when you hit around Exit 8 of the NJ Turnpike. I usually favor going in via Outerbridge Crossing to 440 North and then across SI and the Verrazano - at least if I hit traffic I'm not paying the big VNB toll since it's one way.

Coming back out it really depends, I've had the worst of luck in general going GWB but again I prefer it because I'm cheap; also if the roads are relatively clear, then it is the fastest way back out of NYC and down through NJ, IMO.

Finally two? "words" EZ-Pass worth it's weight in gold.
 
Finally two? "words" EZ-Pass worth it's weight in gold.


^^^^

Best piece of advise.

We were also able to use it at the JFK airport parking lot when dropping off our DS so he could fly out to meet his ship.
 
Get a helicopter and fly to tomb field...the traffic will be bad no matter what route you take.
 
If it were me coming from the south- I would get off the NJP at the Goethels Bridge (I've never gotten off on the Outterbridge so Jasperdog may be on to something there), cross Staten Island to the Verrazano Bridge then head out along the Belt Parkway to the Cross Island Parkway and get off at Northern Blvd.Other than at certain Rush hour times- the Belt and Cross Island remain mobile most of the time. The alternative from the Verrazano Bridge is the BQE but I have never seen that highway not clogged, and the GW Bridge is always gummed up as well - day or night. EZ Pass BTW is a no-brainer for the entire East Coast and especially around New York and Boston- get one!
My wife travels to Staten Island usually from New England at least once/month and my family is in NY so we are down there a lot - I wish I could say that there are routes that are gonna be traffic free but no such hope unless you are travelling after midnight and before 0530.:eek: Motorized Hang glider or helicopter might do the job but beyond that- traffic is just one of the many benefits of the Metro NY area. (Unending lines at stores, Potholes and the Mets are other similar benefits!)
 
Easy way out

I just fly in to LGA and leave the driving to a Taxi.....or DD fights the traffic while I close my eyes and pray a lot!!!!


:stretcher:
 
the best thing to do is start listening to the local NY-NJ Radio and adjust your approach

I have a GPS with traffic and if it picks up heavy traffic in an area like the GWB, it will reroute. I've had it change from the GWB while I was still 15-20 miles away.

Also I agree, I don't know why I ever was slow to get an EZ Pass, it's great.:smile:
 
Somebody's Rving/camping like we will be in 2013. Except I think we'll fly out and rent.:biggrin:
 
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LOL there is no "best" way to go RV or car :) I'll be pulling my camper trailer up for graduation this year, and decided that it will not make a difference in the route, but, I'll probably go the route I usually do, 81 to 78 to 95 N to GW bridge....It's a crap shoot one way or the other you are in traffic. Only saving grace may be driving at 0100 :) and that too has been bogged down.

EZ Pass is a MUST even if you drive up there once a year.............
 
I second Jasper and the Outerbridge crossing. I think the jersey side turnpike entrance/exit is closer to the bridge on the Goethels and that is what causes the backups. Plus, taking the Outerbridge means lower tolls on the TP and just less time spent in the state of NJ.
 
Not the fastest, although maybe the most direct route .... and great if you want a close up view of the Big Apple is to take the Lincoln Tunnel into Manhattan, go cross town on 34th Street (right pass the Empire State Bldg and Macy's Herald Square) to the Queens-Mid Town Tunnel which puts you on the Long Island Expressway. Avoid the rush hours ... best route on a Sunday. :smile:
 
What about bridges with an RV? Aren't some of them have a low clearance?

You can go where the trucks go .... stay off the Parkways (recreational vechles may be allowed, but the the bridge clearances are low).
 
I make several RTs a year Annapolis-KP, since 2003. Excellent posts above. I have made the trip in 4 hours (ah, a glorious day and I must have been dehydrated) and as many as 10. The norm for me is between 4.5 and 5 hours, allowing for a fast pit stop on the NJTP for the cheaper gas and bio-break. All it takes is a breakdown on any one of the bottlenecks, or even Delaware doing one of its endless roadwork projects on its tiny stretch of I-95, to add hours to the trip.

EZ pass saves significant amounts of time.

I try not to arrive in the Metro NYC area anytime after 3 during the work week.

I listen to 880 AM for traffic updates. I usually take Exit 10, Outerbridge Crossing, or Exit 13, Goethals, to Staten Island, then Belt to Cross Island and on up to Northern Blvd. I did the BQE after the VN Bridge. Once. That was enough, and I have driven in Paris, Rome, Tangiers and other fun driving cities. Last resort is the GW Bridge and the Cross-Bronx, and things have to be totally stopped on the Staten Island route. I have done the tunnel into the city and the LIE, coming and going, but either very, very late or very, very early. I sponsored a USNA mid from Riverhead, LI, and he favored the Staten Island/Belt route as the most reliable.

Occasionally, if I don't want to deal with freeway driving, I will take the Eastern Shore route, going either way. Southbound, that's taking US 13 south or US 1 south (toll) after going over the Wilmington, DE, bridge and eventually finding US 301 to US50W and over the Bay Bridge to Annapolis. Easy ride, avoids various MD I-95 bridge and tunnel tolls. DE 896 is the east-west cutover road from US 13 to US 301, joining US 301 at Middletown, DE. Lots of trucks go that way. Speeds are lower, obviously, but if I've had a tough southbound trek on the NJTP, I enjoy the rolling Eastern Shore countryside. Fresh corn stands in summer!

If I have a specific time to be at KP, I allow 7 hours. It's just, as another poster succintly noted, a crap shoot!
 
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