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I'm coming from Toronto and debating which highway's to take. My Plan is once i'm in Buffalo i'll get on the I-90 then merge onto the I-87 at Albany, cross onto the I-84, and get onto the 684 and just follow that down to Manhattan. Is there any faster way someone could suggest to me? How's the conjestion of those various highways from 6am - 4 pm?
Just take the NYS Thruway (I 87) all the way to the city.
Morning rush hour (7AM through 9AM approximately) the traffic into the city is quite heavy. Be prepared to put your car into a garage...they're pricey! Why not take the train to the city? What you pay in train fare will be LESS than you'll pay for parking.
I used to drive from Rochester to NYC regularly and this is the way I would go.
1.Take I-90 to Rochester.
2. Take 390 South until it turns into 17. Continue to follow 17.
3. In Binghampton take I-81 south. That will take you into PA.
4. In Scranton, take I 380 S.
5. At the end of I 380 S merge onto I 80 East.
6. Follow I-80 E into NJ.
7. About a half hour into NJ merge onto I-280 E.
8. Follow the signs to the Holland Tunnel.
The Holland Tunnel will put you on the lower west side. You will want to work it out so that you are in Jersey around 1 or 2 because thats when the tunnel traffic will be better. It takes me about 5 hours from Rochester following this route. Plus the only toll is for the tunnel ($8) where the thruway is a toll road the whole way.
If your destination is Manhattan, do not drive. Your not going to find any parking and even if you do, you'll be spending as much as you were planning to be spending here just for parking. Ride the subway or bus, its only $2.25 a ride plus free transfers.
I do the Buffalo-to-NYC drive several times a year. I Just did it today, in fact. I've tried several different routes.
The I-81/380/80/280 route through Pennsylvania and NJ suggested earlier in this thread by knh39 is the fastest and gets you to Manhattan about 30 to 45 minutes faster than the Thruway. However, delays on the bridges, tunnels and NYC highways are a big wild card no matter what route you take. Sometimes there are delays, sometimes not.
The Thruway route is less hilly and having a Thruway service area available every 30 minutes is convenient, but the tolls are expensive. Don't bother going all the way to I-684. This is just a waste of time and is less direct. If you take I-87 all the way into the city you will have to deal with the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Major Deegan Expressway. Both are potential nightmares. From the Thruway, the Palisades Parkway (Exit 9) is a faster and less congested route, but you are basically forced to use the GW Bridge, which can have a 1 hour delay or no delay at all. It's really a crap shoot.
Also, it is not true that you will not find parking. Garage parking is plentiful in Manhattan, but it is expensive -- $45-$50 per day.
What part of Toronto are you coming from? Depending on your location and the time you're leaving you could go east on the 401, cross the border at Thousand Islands and go south on I-81. We've done the drive from eastern Scarborough to NYC many times and prefer this route. But of course if you're in Oakville or Mississauga then going via Buffalo makes more sense.
What part of Toronto are you coming from? Depending on your location and the time you're leaving you could go east on the 401, cross the border at Thousand Islands and go south on I-81. We've done the drive from eastern Scarborough to NYC many times and prefer this route. But of course if you're in Oakville or Mississauga then going via Buffalo makes more sense.
Just be careful in the Winter taking this route. Avoid this route if lake effect snow is in the forecast. The lake effect snow off Eastern Lake Ontario is routinely measured in feet!
UpstaterInBklyn, you're absolutely right, every time we've done this drive it's been summer. In fact for our winter Toronto-NYC trips we prefer to fly or even take the train.
What part of Toronto are you coming from? Depending on your location and the time you're leaving you could go east on the 401, cross the border at Thousand Islands and go south on I-81. We've done the drive from eastern Scarborough to NYC many times and prefer this route. But of course if you're in Oakville or Mississauga then going via Buffalo makes more sense.
Yeah i'm outta Etobicoke, definitely taking the Buffalo route.
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