Reminder: Avoid I-40 This Week If Possible (Charlotte, Raleigh: home, shop)

[ozmoe571]

For newbies to the area, the Thanksgiving week traffic is the worst on the road, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings especially, but also Mondays lately as well. Why? Well, everybody is using the highway as their main route to and/or from the mountains to the coast as well as reaching places here in the Triangle, plus many are trying to access RDU Airport right off the interstate as well.

I've been on it several times, and it's taken an hour and a half to get from Wake to Orange County on these evenings. I'm sure it was even longer for people going the other direction.

Your options if you must go to work and come home to a different city are as follows:
1) Don't use I-40 immediately after work. Grab a bite to eat and drink somewhere, maybe shop, then head out on the road. But don't be surprised if it's still packed even after 7, just hopefully less so that during rush hour.

2) Try an east-west alternative, although none are really good. 54 will be just as packed and crowded, and with much of it still just two lanes, it's been worse to endure. If you're in southern Wake or Durham, 64 isn't too hard to endure once you get past the stoplights in Apex, but getting to it via US 1 or the back roads is a pain. And U.S. 70 is stop-and-go hell from I-85 to downtown Raleigh.

3) Grin and bear it on I-40. Take deep breaths and play music or books on tape that will relax you while you wait. Realize that if you do get off on I-540 or the Durham Freeway, traffic is not going to improve much.

Oh, and despite all this, I hope all my fellow Triangle City-Data friends have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

[pierretong1991]

Or just plug every trip into Google Maps before you leave to see what the quickest route is (or monitor travel times if you choose to leave later)

[jelenap]

Or better yet, if you can, just work from home. Use this post as an excuse.

[wizard-xyzzy]

Note that Business I-40 in downtown Winston-Salem between US 52 and Peters Creek Parkway is closed while it's rebuilt, a long project. Most people in the Triangle wouldn't use this as a through route anyway, but the closure will make traffic on I-40 around the south side of Winston-Salem worse.

For people headed west of the the Triangle who don't want to get caught on I-40 between Raleigh and Mebane, US 64 to Pittsboro is a viable alternative. If you're going to Charlotte or points south on I-85, consider taking US 64 to Asheboro then NC 49 to Charlotte.

For people headed into central or eastern South Carolina, US 1 to Aberdeen then US 15-501 into SC is a better bet than I-40 east to Benson then I-95 south.

[Tigeru]

All of these suggestions are great for the Sunday drivers and when it rains too