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Old 06-30-2004, 04:49 PM   #1
Mirror Lake's BB
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Default Road construction traveling from PA?

We will be coming up from PA this Friday. Our usual route is : PA turnpike, NJ turnpike, Garden State Parkway, Tappen Zee bridge, Rt. 684 to 84 East (Danbury), thru Hartford, to 90 Mass Turnpike to Rt290 East to Worcester, to 495 North to Rt 3 thru Manchester and Concord, then 393/4/202 & 9 to Rt28. Does any one know if there is more than the usual road construction that we may want to take an alternate route? We plan on leaving at 4:30 am Fri. We will be trailering our boat.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 06-30-2004, 08:18 PM   #2
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Unhappy RT3 is under major construction

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirror Lake's BB
We will be coming up from PA this Friday. Our usual route is : PA turnpike, NJ turnpike, Garden State Parkway, Tappen Zee bridge, Rt. 684 to 84 East (Danbury), thru Hartford, to 90 Mass Turnpike to Rt290 East to Worcester, to 495 North to Rt 3 thru Manchester and Concord, then 393/4/202 & 9 to Rt28. Does any one know if there is more than the usual road construction that we may want to take an alternate route? We plan on leaving at 4:30 am Fri. We will be trailering our boat.
Thanks in advance.
Rt3 traffic can be bad depending on the time of day you hit it. For the most part it's no worse with the construction ongoing than it was before w/o it. If you hit Rt3 before 3 pm on Fri usually you're OK but this weekend will no doubt be worse. You can miss about 1/2 the Rt3 mileage by getting off 495 in Westford and cutting through Chelmsford to the Drum Hill rotary or to Rt 40. What time would you anticipate getting to the junction of 3 & 495 ?
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Old 06-30-2004, 08:31 PM   #3
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MirrorLakeBB, Rte 290 through Worcester to rte 495 is all under construction. I drove it today just east of Worcester. Wasn't too too bad but several ramps were closed and the westbound was all tied up at places. They are repaving and I think working on some of the bridges. There are signs posted everywhere to plan alternative routes while under construction. You might want to stay on the pike all the way to rte 495.
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Old 07-01-2004, 07:10 AM   #4
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Default Another Route to think about

If you can get to Rt 100 in PA easily, then try 100N to 29N to 78E to 287N this will bring you to the Tappan Zee without having to hit NJ turnpike or GS Parkway. from 287 you can pick up the NY State through-way (I Think it is 87N) to 84 E. We find this way much quicker and no construction.

I also understand the the construction on 495 where one would pick up the Everette Turnpike is done.
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Old 07-01-2004, 07:52 AM   #5
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Default MA/NH construction

I can speak to the construction at 495/rt 3 in MA into NH as I just drove it yesterday. There is a lot of construction going on in that area, and it is far from complete. Unless they are closing lanes in the daytime, which I do not think they are, you should not have any probs in this area. Since you are leaving at 4:30am, I am guessing you will hit that area at around 10 am. At that hour, you should have no problems at all with traffic. With the construction, and it being the Friday of a long weekend, it will probably be heavy, but won't be all that bad. Your timing is pretty much perfect.

When I was in college, my girlfriend at the time lived just outside of Philly. The route that you described is exactly the route I would take to go see her on weekends. 6 hours of fun-filled driving that was. Ahhhhh, brings back memories....

Good luck on the drive, take your time, get here safe, and ENJOY your vacation!
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Old 07-01-2004, 09:15 AM   #6
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Default Rt 3 is still a mess

I travel Rt 3 everyday from Nashua to Rt495. The interchange of Rt3 and 495 is pretty much complete. Beyond that Rt 3 is still only two lanes each way until you reach the NH border. Going North in the morning is usually painless but sometimes they do lane shutdowns on the "off" direction. This site may help:

http://www.route3construction.com/default.asp
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Old 07-02-2004, 07:10 AM   #7
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Default 290 out of Worcester a mess!

My father just went up to the lake last night. He said the best thing to do would be to stay on the Mass Pike and go to 495 directly, and ignore Worcester and 290. He said it was a mess. So that is what I will do TONIGHT. Woo Hoo, look out lake, here I come.
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Old 07-02-2004, 08:11 AM   #8
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I hope you read this before you leave today. Last weekend I spent my time at a basketball torunament in south Jersey and then drove from Wildwood to Peekskill via the Garden State Parkway, Jersey Turnpike, G.W. Bridge, and I 87. All I can say is never again. The Parkway and turnpike were choked with traffic. My suggestion, go north on the Northeast Extention, pick up I 81 north at Scranton and follow it to I 84. Regardless, have a great trip. I'm going to be up there in about three weeks.
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Old 07-09-2004, 08:34 AM   #9
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Default Late response...

Hey -- I come up from your neck of the PA woods to your neck of the NH woods, and although you've already left, I'll share a time-tested route and some observations...

Depending on where you are starting from, I recommend avoiding the PA and NJ Turdpikes (no typo) and heading up toward New Hope and jumping on 202. 202 north through Flemington, etc., to 287 North. This is a FAST four-lane (each direction) interstate. Take it to the New York Thruway (87) north. Pick up 84 through CT (this will be the slowest, most-under-construction part), through to the Mass Pike. Mass Pike east to 290 through Worcester, and then onto to 495 North. 3 or 93 North and then the 4/202/393 jump east over to 28. Last summer's 28 construction is done.
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Old 07-09-2004, 10:39 AM   #10
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Avoid 290 thru Worcester. It is under construction near Holy Cross and is down to 2 very narrow lanes at that point. Your best bet is to stay on the Mass pike from Sturbridge to Exit 11A to 495N direct.
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Old 07-10-2004, 11:45 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghfromaltonbay
Avoid 290 thru Worcester. It is under construction near Holy Cross and is down to 2 very narrow lanes at that point. Your best bet is to stay on the Mass pike from Sturbridge to Exit 11A to 495N direct.
Yikes -- yes, we hit that when returning in May, although since it was mid-day on a Monday heading south, the back-up wasn't too bad. But, yes, I would avoid it at all cost -- the time saved vs. going straight out Mass Pike to 495 isn't all that much anyway.

When heading south on 495, I usually make a last-second decision whether or not to do the 290 cut-off -- if there's a ton of traffic backed up at 495-290 exit, blow it off and head down to 495/Mass Pike.
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Old 07-10-2004, 12:03 PM   #12
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Grant,
You're right about the time of day making a difference. Also, traffic accidents can make the decision for me. When I leave the lake, I keep the radio tuned to WBZ for their traffic reports. Last time I came back to NJ on Fri. 6/25 there were 2 accidents on the Mass. Pike in Westborough and also in Millbury. I took the Route 290 exit and went thru Worcester about 4 p.m. Although it was a little slow going right near the construction, it was moving better than the Mass. Pike. I find that WBZ does a great job for the entire area that I pass through from the Spaulding Tpke. right down to the Sturbridge exit of the Mass. Pike.
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Old 07-17-2004, 07:15 PM   #13
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Question Road Help

Help.... we are coming up to the lake from Texas with a stop over in Cape May NJ. Any suggestions of routes to take from Cape May to Meredith. We'll be leaving Cape May about 5:00 am on a Wednesday morning. We use to live in NJ so know the trauma of the Garden State and NJ Turnpike. Any suggestions would be great!
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