Need help with a drive to 279 (Pittsburgh, Erie: how much, hotels, house)

[rural lady]

I don't know how the weather is going to be when I go to this new doctor.

I will be leaving from Brookfield which is at the top of RT 28 and I-80

I am not too keen on I-80 with the snow and ice since this is really a snow zone in this area.

I know i can go 80 to 79 to 279 near west view

or 28 straight to pgh and get on 279, both are long drives and longer and aggrivating driving on ice or snow at rush hours if need be.

Anyway is there some other way from Tarentum at the 28 and 85 junction by that mall that i could cross over somehow to get to Sharpsburg or Mlllvale, I know my way from there.

I also remember coming from Seibert rd from the east to get on McKnight but I cannot remember how, its been a long long time.

Any help appreciated, thanks

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by rural lady

Anyway is there some other way from Tarentum at the 28 and 85 junction by that mall that i could cross over somehow to get to Sharpsburg or Mlllvale, I know my way from there.

When I go to/from Bradford PA, I go through Kane and Clarion and Butler and take Rt 8 to Rt 28. The Rt 8 and Rt 28 intersection is where Sharpsburg is located.

I think I take Rt 6 to Rt 66 to Clarion then Rt 68 into Butler and then Rt 8 to Etna/Sharpsburgh then Rt 28 into Pittsburgh.

I sometimes go via I 79 to Slippery Rock and cut over to Kane.

[greg42]

28 is going to be the shortest/fastest regardless of conditions. It's so far out of the way to go to 79 that it wouldn't make much sense. You can do perhaps Hopes suggestion of 68 to 8, but I don't see how that helps anything time-wise or road-wise.

28 goes right to Sharpsburg and Millvale, so I'm not sure where you would want to cut away from it. To me there's just no question, take it all the way to 279 and go north to West View. West View is too close to the city to have a good short cut across there. The Seibert you remember is correct but there's no easy direct way to access that from 28. You can get there through Millvale but I don't see a compelling reason to deal with all the necessary turns and such. If it's snowing out, sticking to the major roads is going to be safer.

[DurangoJoe]

Coming down 28 from Brookville really doesn't save any time and usually takes longer. As a traveling salesman, I've been driving between eastern PA and the north hills area of Pittsburgh using I-80 since 1990 and I can tell you that on a map, Rte 28 looks like the best way but it's really not.

I-80 to I-79 & down is absolutely the safest & fastest way to go. I have experienced this many times myself. For one thing, the curves & hills on Route 28 from Brookville down to Kittanning will be treacherous in snow & ice conditions and as a rural 2 lane, it will not receive the same level of snow removal & icing treatment that the interstates will.

[greg42]

It seems to me it depends upon how close to the city you're going. I go across I-80 all the time myself, but I'm setting out from nearly in Cranberry, which makes that routing make sense. For West View, which is rather close to downtown Pittsburgh, it makes less sense to me. But it's been a while since I drove that curvy section of 28, I'll admit.

I've also recently experienced too much evidence that early in a winter weather problem the snow removal on the interstates is as bad or worse than on roads like 28. The degree to which this can slow things down might be worse on 80 and 79 in that case.

[DurangoJoe]

I live in Cranberry now. At the time I started those trips, I was living in Wexford. I have a boat on the OH river and drive from my home in Cranberry to the North Shore and back twice every weekend in the summer. It's only 15-20 minutes from my house to West View using I-79 & I-279. The section of 28 between New Bethlehem & Kittanning is killer in the winter. Very hilly & windy. Every once in a while coming home from back east I take 28 down and it never fails to remind me why I don't do it more often. It's just so much faster & easier ( and safer) to use the interstates even though it's more miles.

SoButCounty

[greg42]

Oh, yeah, I know. I drive roughly from the same area to downtown every weekday. That's probably the non-rush time it takes, but close enough. My thought was that it couldn't possibly take more than 20 minutes extra to take 28 which is a shorter distance, but I haven't driven it as recently as you have.

My remaining worry is the lame snow removal on the interstates. It's happened noticeably in the past couple years. Barring that, I would defer to your judgment on the time it takes, although this can vary depending upon how fast one speeds on 80 and 79. (Not everyone will be able to make up the time over the extended distance, methinks, but I can't prove it. )

[PA-native71]

The best route to go is across I-80 then when you get to the Emlenton Exit head down Rte-38,this is a straight shot with very low traffic and no stop signs or traffic lights til you hit Butler then take a quick ride over 68 til you hit Rte.8 then head straight down to Pittsburgh then you can pick up 76 or some other route that will get you where you need to go.
The problem with 28 is that the road is treacherous in bad weather with its tight turns and t stops and the hills can be a real pain especially with fog ,and to goto rte8 or 79 I would avoid there is no reason to drive that far out when you can already be heading toward Butler by the time you get on either of these routes, and besides the locals know this is the best way to go because the hilly parts of the road are mild and the road is pretty straight and never needed to drive the other routes unless I was closer to them but in the early morning I could be thru butler and be in Pittsburgh a lil over an hour,plus like I mentioned before there is hardly any traffic on this road and as long as you drive smart you can get thru this road pretty easy in the snow.
Now I would suggest since you do have a distance to travel I would make sure you take a couple days of clothes with you and have a place to stay just in case the weather turns for the worse before you can get out of town, and take water with you and make sure your cell is fully charged and have a couple flares just in case and a good flashlight a good LED will last for hours on end if you need it to,and make sure you have AAA this can be a godsend in case you need it.
Now believe me this route is the best I drove it so many times in my life (been on it since I was a baby) that I know and everybody that lives in the area knows this is the best rte to take and it is quick to get thru to Butler, to go down rte 8 is out of the way for the locals and wastes gas and time same with 79 and 79 if there is an accident going either way it can get backed up for miles very quickly and will take you alot longer to get thru it in bad weather, 38 is your best shot for time and safety.
Good Luck

[DurangoJoe]

Guaranteed you will see more plows and salt trucks on the interstate than on the two lanes. Not only that, if the weather does get bad, you're not off the beaten path like you are on two lane roads. There are exits to take and hotels to check into if you need it. The mileage may be longer but personal safety outweighs any savings in time or gas that you may think you will gain on the two lane roads. I realize that many locals may use the two lanes but how much of that is simply force of habit after living there for so long? After all, the interstates have not always been there. Personally, driving over 40,000 miles a year on business as I do, I prefer to stick to the interstates where I know help will be available pretty quickly if I ever need it.

But then only you can decide what's right for you....

SoButCounty

[PA-native71]

Originally Posted by SoButCounty

Guaranteed you will see more plows and salt trucks on the interstate than on the two lanes. Not only that, if the weather does get bad, you're not off the beaten path like you are on two lane roads. There are exits to take and hotels to check into if you need it. The mileage may be longer but personal safety outweighs any savings in time or gas that you may think you will gain on the two lane roads. I realize that many locals may use the two lanes but how much of that is simply force of habit after living there for so long? After all, the interstates have not always been there. Personally, driving over 40,000 miles a year on business as I do, I prefer to stick to the interstates where I know help will be available pretty quickly if I ever need it.

But then only you can decide what's right for you....

SoButCounty

That is a load of crap 79 is the worse road to be on at any time,you get further along on rte 8 or 38 anybody who travels 79 don't know anything and should not be trusted. I have on more than one occasion told people not to go that way and they do anyway and you know what they regret it and wished they would have listened to me because they couldn't believe how much faster it was to get to Pittsburgh and back home again, since 79 takes all the traffic to/from the turnpike, I90 and I80 and PA,Ohio, New York, WV, Maryland, VA and Delaware this road is too busy for regular commuting and is constantly getting backed up around Pittsburgh and Erie, Rte 8 and 38 you can move alot easier and get alot further along in the same amount of time compared to 79 and it is alot safer to travel 8 and 38 as long as you adjust your speed to the conditions. After leaving Butler I can be sitting in Clarion in an hour on an average day taking 38 then I80 and driving the speed limit most people on 79 drive over 15-20 MPH over the speed limit and weave in and out of traffic lanes constantly.
If she wants to be safe take my advice, if she want to take risks go on 79.