[mrsfoofyfoo]

Hello...my husband is interviewing with ESPN in Bristol and fingers crossed he will be working there very soon. Right now we both work in NYC and live in Jersey. If he gets the job in Bristol I would want to keep my job in NYC and am looking for my trip into Grand Central via Metro North to be under an hour. My husband says he is willing to have a longer commute and says he would not mind going from Stamford to Bristol (Mapquest has the trip at about 1.5 hours) From what I can tell Stamford is a major commutter hub so I am not really worried about my commute but more concerned about my husbands. Right now we don't know what hours he would be working but I know that in Long Island or Jersey a 1.5 hour trip on Maquest can be 3 hours based on time of day and traffic. Most of the driving from Stamford to Bristol seems to be on I-95 North (Approx 20 miles) and then CT-8 (30 miles) according to Mapquest.
I am not sure if anyone has done this type of commute but any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Also, if anyone has suggestions on apts. in Bristol near the Metro North (Walkable) that would be helpful.

[KH02]

My DH works for ESPN and they had a guy try to commute up from Stamford once saying he "wouldn't mind" the commute. Well they did a trial run of the commute and the guy actually gave up about 2 hours into it as the traffic was horrible! haha. He never did take the job.
95 will be the WORST as route 8 doesn't get bad, but when you get off rte 8 onto 84 W you will sit in traffic again going through waterbury which is always backed up!!! You could continue on rt8 further up and get off in Thomaston and Terryville but then it will take u backroads all the way to ESPN so it's a less direct route and there are many stop lights and there is no passing lane through then towns.

My Dh says he wouldn't do that commute and he knows what it's like because he used to work in Stamford..

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Maybe it would be better to consider the Danbury area instead of Stamford?

[JayCT]

From Danbury, they would still hit traffic in Waterbury.

Instead of going up Route 8 to I-84, your husband could go up Route 15 to I-691 in Meriden and then get on I-84 east to Bristol. That way he will avoid the traffic in Waterbury. This route is about 75 miles and fairly easy with limited traffic problems. It would still be about a 90 minute drive though which can get tiring. Jay

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by JayCT

From Danbury, they would still hit traffic in Waterbury.

Instead of going up Route 8 to I-84, your husband could go up Route 15 to I-691 in Meriden and then get on I-84 east to Bristol. That way he will avoid the traffic in Waterbury. This route is about 75 miles and fairly easy with limited traffic problems. It would still be about a 90 minute drive though which can get tiring. Jay

I was thinking that it would be quicker to get off 84 at Southbury, and take RT.6 the rest of the way. I could be mistaken though.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by JayCT

From Danbury, they would still hit traffic in Waterbury.

Instead of going up Route 8 to I-84, your husband could go up Route 15 to I-691 in Meriden and then get on I-84 east to Bristol. That way he will avoid the traffic in Waterbury. This route is about 75 miles and fairly easy with limited traffic problems. It would still be about a 90 minute drive though which can get tiring. Jay

In what I'm currently doing, I need to go up to Hartford for things maybe 1 or 2 days a month and this is exactly the route I have taken. I will still be about 90 minutes though not too much traffic.

[Kim Drexler]

What is the actual time on 95 between Bridgeport and Stamford; outside of rush hour I found it to be 15minutes; does this expand to a 1/2 hr if taking Rte 8 south into Bridgeport and then follow thru w 95?

Would it be better to take 15 via Norwalk and rte 7; there are some city streets in here but I don't know if they get really backed up?

I may also consider driving down to Bridgeport and then just taking the train over to Stamford as the job location is right near the RR station;

Feedback very welcome!!! I need to make a decision next wk

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Kim Drexler

What is the actual time on 95 between Bridgeport and Stamford; outside of rush hour I found it to be 15minutes; does this expand to a 1/2 hr if taking Rte 8 south into Bridgeport and then follow thru w 95?

Would it be better to take 15 via Norwalk and rte 7; there are some city streets in here but I don't know if they get really backed up?

I may also consider driving down to Bridgeport and then just taking the train over to Stamford as the job location is right near the RR station;

Feedback very welcome!!! I need to make a decision next wk

I am not sure what you mean by your question on Route 8. Strictly speaking Bridgeport is about 15 minutes on the highway from Stamford but that does not include the time to get to the highway or when you get off and head to where you are going. That could add considerably to the time. Also you never know when you are going to encounter traffic on this highway.

Also I do not think that Route 15 (the Merritt Parkway) and then switching to Route 7 is a better way to get to Stamford. The Route 15/Route 7 interchange is only partially completed and the key ramps you will need have not been constructed yet. This means you will need to get off the highway and travel a mile or so on local streets to get from one highway to the other. This will add to you travel time. I hope this helps. Jay

[Kim Drexler]

I guess the point of my question is more regarding how bad the 15 minute travel time btwn Bridgeport and Stamford along 95 would increase during rush hour? Typically.
My commute was 15 minutes outside of typical rush hour times.
I don't think Rte 8 is bad during rush hour but would welcome your feedback there as well
Thanks for the heads up re Rte7 interchange to 15.

[JayCT]

I-95 from Bridgeport to Stamford is one of the most congested roads in the state. That 15 minute drive commonly takes 45 minutes to an hour (or even more if there is an accident) during rush hour. I encourage you to consider using Metro-North for your commute. Jay