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I've been commuting back and forth for over a year. We usually leave NJ at 4:30 AM and arrive in Durham by 12:00/12:30 PM. When leaving in the evening, we're out by 7:00 PM and arrive by 2:30 AM. Never have a problem in DC. We prefer leaving in the morning since we encounter so many accidents at night.
I make a drive from my house in Cary to Scotch Plains, NJ in Union County about twice a year. If I don't hit any traffic, the trip takes me 8 hours and I drive straight through.
I agree that Fredrickburg is the best stopping point for the trip south. You shouldn't have a problem making it that far on a full tank of gas. Count on four to five hours for this leg of the trip if you don't hit heavy traffic or stop for a long time along the way.
The problem with stopping in Fredricksburg is that it implies you will be heading southbound on I-95 in northern Virginia in the evening and this pretty much guarantees that you will hit traffic. Definitely try to aviod southbound I-95 in northern Virginia (from Springfield to Fredricksburg) between the hours of 3PM and 9PM.
Also, if you have a smartphone, it is a good idea to check traffic on the DC beltway as you approach DC on I-95 in Maryland. Also 103.5 FM has traffic updates every 10 minutes. This can help you to determine which side of the beltway to use to bypass DC -- the east side (95) or the west side (495--towards Silver Spring, Tysons Corner). Both directions are close substitutes unless one side is backed up and the other is not. So traffic updates are helpful.
I agree with alot of you on the time to make the trips...early in the morning or late at night. My wife and I would usually leave after work like 5pm, and arrive by 1am. We don't usually hit any traffic. You do have to time it out properly so you're not hitting DC traffic at rush hour. Plus, it allows the kid to sleep for the final 5 hours of the trip.
Cutting through Jersey seems to take the longest though (to get to Shore Points/Toms River). It can take a little over 5 hours to get to the Del Mem Bridge...yet it sometimes takes almost 2 hours just to get across NJ...either by taking the AC Expressway or much further up the Turnpike to 195.
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Cutting through Jersey seems to take the longest though (to get to Shore Points/Toms River). It can take a little over 5 hours to get to the Del Mem Bridge...yet it sometimes takes almost 2 hours just to get across NJ...either by taking the AC Expressway or much further up the Turnpike to 195.
Isn't that the truth!!! I am so happy to be in New Jersey but then it's another hour on the Turnpike!!! I take 195 across the state to get to the shore. Exit 16 (Six Flags exit) and then 571 into Toms River.
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