? Commute from Winchester to Nashua, NH? (Boston, Lowell: living, moving to, rail)

[jlyang]

Hi everyone,
I'm thinking of moving to Winchester and commuting to a job daily in Nashua, NH while my wife takes the commuter rail to Boston for her job. Has anyone ever made this commute during rush hour, and if so, what did you think? I tried it on a Saturday and found that:
1. the distance is 30 miles, so not that bad
2. the first 6 miles on Route 3 were VERY VERY slow, going from Winchester through Woburn and Burlington, until I hit Route 3 north of 128. Average speed on the first 6 miles on Route 3 coming out of Burlington was probably 10 mph due to all that traffic. Would this be even worse on a weekday?

Also, I'm wondering whether there's a lot of traffic going from Nashua to Burlington in the evening.

In general I'm trying to see if this commute is a reasonable commute, or one that would be tiring, esp owing to how congested Route 3 is until you go north of 128.

[NY'er lost in MA]

I have not commuted on Rt. 3 North, but my general advice is to try 93 north to Windham and then cut in. It is extra mileage, but smoother sailing. I used to take 93 S into the city daily and could see that 93 N was usually clear in the rush.

They should make a movie- Escape from Beantown- the revenge of the ridiculous traffic!

That about sums it up!

[jlyang]

Hi,
Thanks for your advice; appreciate it. I have driven on Route 3 North, North of I-95 in Burlington up to Nashua during rush hour before, and that stretch is pretty clear. The 6 miles going from Winchester through Woburn and Burlington is my biggest concern...

Thanks,
john

[Parsec]

My wife regularly travels on Rt-3 between 128 and 495 during rush hour and says traffic is no problem -- you should be able to go 70mph. As for driving Rt-3 south of 128, what part of Winchester are you in? Have you tried going I-93 to 128 to Rt-3? Cambridge St. will have even more traffic during rush hour than on the weekends because of all the office parks that are located nearby. You can also try cutting over to Lowell St. and take that to 128 since there's probably less traffic there.

[jlyang]

Hi,
I'd be living probably about 2-3 miles west of Winchester Center. Lowell St. looks like it may be a better bet than Cambridge St.

I have done I93N to 95S before (Brookline to Burlington commute) and it is tough. There can be a couple miles of backup on 93 before it intersects with 95, and 95S en route to Burlington was sometimes very packed too.

Thanks again, John
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Originally Posted by Parsec

My wife regularly travels on Rt-3 between 128 and 495 during rush hour and says traffic is no problem -- you should be able to go 70mph. As for driving Rt-3 south of 128, what part of Winchester are you in? Have you tried going I-93 to 128 to Rt-3? Cambridge St. will have even more traffic during rush hour than on the weekends because of all the office parks that are located nearby. You can also try cutting over to Lowell St. and take that to 128 since there's probably less traffic there.