RTP Rush Hour Traffic - (Raleigh, Durham: to rent, chapel, how much)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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What are the primary hours of Rush Hour Traffic in the Raleigh area?
I also would like opinions on travel time during rush hour to/from a few locations below. (while we will probably be renting first if/when we make a move), I am looking at homes all around the Raleigh area... of course I have found we can get much better "bang for our buck" on the outskirts - East of Raleigh, and South of Raleigh.
What would be the travel time estimate in Rush Hour from:
North East Raleigh -
East Raleigh -
South Raleigh -
South West Raleigh -
To Cary, Durham, and Raleigh?
My husband would have opportunities probably to work in Durham or Raleigh. I would have potential opportunities to work in Cary, or Raleigh. I know I will get a better idea when I get down there... but looking at houses to buy is so much more fun than houses to rent.... :-) And I don't want to get my hopes up if the commute time is ridiculous that I will be able to get my dream house haha.
It starts to thicken up around 7:30, reaching a fever pitch around 8:30am. In the PM, it starts to get busy around 4:00pm and hits a standstill between 5:15 and 6:00pm. On Fridays, you can expect the PM rush to get busy around 3:00pm. The farther you travel, the worse it seems. Think of RTP as the central magnet, and people travelling into that area from west and east. Downtown Raleigh also is a magnet with traffic coming from all directions, especially south and north.
On I-40, how much rush hour traffic you hit really depends on what direction you're travelling. If you travel west to east in the morning and east to west in the evening, traffic typically moves freely except for occasional congestion. The opposite commute has daily backups.
And, of course, what might matter more than I-40 is the local roads you will need to travel to begin and end your commute.
Yeah I am sure there are plenty of factors that will affect it, kind of just looking at general ideas and time frames.
I currently live outside of DC - so any commute sometimes only 20 or 25 miles... is usually minimum an hour drive with traffic. I know Raleigh area isn't as congested as DC, nor are the roads as poorly designed... but I'm sure it's been getting busier the past few years.
Are there plenty of people that travel from Raleigh area to Durham for work?
I guess a semi accurate formula we use around here for during rush hour... is take how many miles the distance....double it.. and make it the number of minutes.. and that will be your Minimum commute during rush hour. Would that be an accurate formula for you guys?
Ex. I have to travel 25 miles to work... so during rush hour I can expect the MINIMUM travel time to be 50 minutes... but account and expect for more than that haha.
There's so much that factors into this it's really hard to say. How far is the house from the main highways? Are there good alternative routes if there's an accident? etc etc etc. My commute from the eastern side of Cary to Duke takes me 25-30 minutes on a normal day, but for example if there's a bad accident on US-1 and I don't find out about it until it's too late to adjust my route, that five minute stretch of road can suddenly turn into a 25 minute stretch.
I commute more than 30 miles every day between Chapel Hill and Raleigh, mostly on I-40. I allow 40 minutes door-to-door, which includes the time it takes me to park and walk from/to my car.
My wife works in RTP, and it's about 15 miles, and takes about 20-25 minutes most days. My commute used to be 17 miles, and took 25 minutes most days. This is travelling from 5 miles north of 540 and Creedmoor Rd area to Alexander/Miami Blvd area of RTP.
You will LOVE it here. 40 can get congested, but it's usually only a subset of the part between 540 and US1/64, so what would normally take 8 minutes might take 12-15 during rush hour, 20-25 on a "really bad day", and maybe 3-5x per year, it gets really FUBAR and takes significantly longer.
For me, Cary to RTP (Near Harrison to TW Alexander) takes 14 minutes if i go in before 7AM and about 18 minutes if I leave at 4:30. If I leave after 5, you might add another five minutes. It is NOT BAD HERE.
I think going north up toward N. Raleigh might be a bit worse?
I used to live in Sanford, My trip to RTP was 38 miles each way, I worked from 7-4:30 and and it was 41-42 minutes in the AM, and 45-50 going home.
Again, compared to DC, Raleigh does not have any appreciable traffic. it's that simple>
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