How bad is rush hour traffic on the GSP? (Union: house, construction)

[TechGromit]

I have to commute to Freehold for a new job I just obtained. I was wondering how the traffic was on the Garden State Parkway in the morning. I will be driving from exit 40 to exit 100, I don't think traffic really gets heavy until the Driscoll bridge, but I've never driven this route during rush hour, so I really don't know what to expect. Also I hear traffic going south is bad on Friday, I might be better off sticking to back roads from Freehold then tempting fate on the GSP going south on a Friday. Can anyone shed some light and what times are the worse to travel? - Thanks.

[GoYanks34]

Originally Posted by TechGromit

I have to commute to Freehold for a new job I just obtained. I was wondering how the traffic was on the Garden State Parkway in the morning. I will be driving from exit 40 to exit 100, I don't think traffic really gets heavy until the Driscoll bridge, but I've never driven this route during rush hour, so I really don't know what to expect. Also I hear traffic going south is bad on Friday, I might be better off sticking to back roads from Freehold then tempting fate on the GSP going south on a Friday. Can anyone shed some light and what times are the worse to travel? - Thanks.

Traffic is usually not too bad unless there is an accident. It slows down around exit 91 due to the construction 45 MPH speed limit - half of the people slow down to around 50 MPH and the other half are fighting to get around them. You should be fine but I have never traveled from that far south so perhaps someone else can chime in if there are other areas that jam up.

Coming home on a Friday will be a nightmare no matter how you go since you're passing all the major shore destinations. Route 9 is worse than the GSP so I'd BEG my boss to let me work later during the week and leave a bit earlier on Fridays until the summer's over! That's my one complaint about living down here - I can never go up north (where most of my friends and family are) on a Friday or I can't get home.

[CaptainNJ]

you should be good to go. even Friday in the summer isn't that bad these days. they added the lane on the gsp and there just doesn't seem to be as much volume. often I drive Friday from work down to lbi and i typically have very limited gsp traffic during that trip.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by GoYanks34

Traffic is usually not too bad unless there is an accident. It slows down around exit 91 due to the construction 45 MPH speed limit - half of the people slow down to around 50 MPH and the other half are fighting to get around them. You should be fine but I have never traveled from that far south so perhaps someone else can chime in if there are other areas that jam up.

Coming home on a Friday will be a nightmare no matter how you go since you're passing all the major shore destinations. Route 9 is worse than the GSP so I'd BEG my boss to let me work later during the week and leave a bit earlier on Fridays until the summer's over! That's my one complaint about living down here - I can never go up north (where most of my friends and family are) on a Friday or I can't get home.

LOL, I tell my poor 84-year-old mother that I won't be visiting her during the summer unless I take a day off during the week to do so. Visiting Mom means the GSP from Exit 109 to Exit 160, and that's hell on a weekend day during the summer.

[TechGromit]

Originally Posted by GoYanks34

Coming home on a Friday will be a nightmare no matter how you go since you're passing all the major shore destinations. Route 9 is worse than the GSP so I'd BEG my boss to let me work later during the week and leave a bit earlier on Fridays until the summer's over!

On Friday I can take Rt. 537 to Rt. 539 to get down to GSP Exit 58, if it's still bad that far south, I can take Poor Man's Parkway to Stage Rd / Leektown Rd, through Green Bank to get home. These are only two lane roads with limited passing spots, a slow truck can really mess up your commute.

[EBWick]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

LOL, I tell my poor 84-year-old mother that I won't be visiting her during the summer unless I take a day off during the week to do so. Visiting Mom means the GSP from Exit 109 to Exit 160, and that's hell on a weekend day during the summer.

Better to take the Tpk. Since the tolls doubled on the Tpk, the Parkway has become more crowded. Especially thru Middlesex, Union & Essex. You can cruise on the Tpk at just about any hour except from 7-9 AM.

[GoYanks34]

Originally Posted by EBWick

Better to take the Tpk. Since the tolls doubled on the Tpk, the Parkway has become more crowded. Especially thru Middlesex, Union & Essex. You can cruise on the Tpk at just about any hour except from 7-9 AM.

It's coming home, not going up. I do take the turnpike and there is also traffic on a Friday night although not as bad as the GSP. I always take the truck lanes and that helps a bit when there's heavy volume. I just don't come home on a Friday night and don't go up on a Sunday anytime after 1 pm. There's much heavier volume even coming home south on Sunday night but not even close to the bumper to bumper traffic going north.

The funniest thing was on July 4th I met friends at Point Pleasant (NOT my choice as I knew it would be horribly crowded). They left Rockland County NY at 7:30 am and hit so much traffic. We were supposed to meet around 10 am (takes them 1 1/2 hrs normally) but they didn't get there until around 11. I had them call me when they were getting off the GSP and it only took me 15 minutes taking rte 88 from my house leaving at 10 am, LOL. I had to pay for the lot to hold a parking spot for them because they were all filling up. They would have been better off coming to my place and leaving from here. That's the good thing living here - I can take the routes to get to the beaches none of the "benny's" know about. If it's not route 35 it doesn't seem to exist to them.

[exhdo1]

Originally Posted by TechGromit

I have to commute to Freehold for a new job I just obtained. I was wondering how the traffic was on the Garden State Parkway in the morning. I will be driving from exit 40 to exit 100, I don't think traffic really gets heavy until the Driscoll bridge, but I've never driven this route during rush hour, so I really don't know what to expect. Also I hear traffic going south is bad on Friday, I might be better off sticking to back roads from Freehold then tempting fate on the GSP going south on a Friday. Can anyone shed some light and what times are the worse to travel? - Thanks.

What part of Freehold are you traveling to?

[PPOOZ]

GSP is a mess, its one of the worst roads in the state.

[rscalzo]

Rush hour...not bad..



Too many variables. Heat causes overheated cars to breakdown. A mva can screw things up. Sometimes you win, sometimes not. Traffic cams can give you a great view of current conditions. I always had a Plan B just in case.

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