Sunday Thanksgiving traffic - avoiding I-75 northbound (Tallahassee, Brandon: construction, live)

[cee]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I will be driving to Atlanta on Sunday after thanksgiving (worst travel day). Any tips on when to leave or alternate routes? I don't have to be at work in Atlanta till after lunch on Monday, so I am open to leaving later if need be. I was thinking about leaving at 5pm to get to Atlanta around midnight or 1am. Is that a good idea? Thanks

[LarsMac]

Depends a lot on from where you are going to Atlanta.
But try US 19 and 41

[crazynip]

US 19 and 41 are just as bad and you have to deal with traffic lights in towns. It sucks, but you are gonna have to tough it out.

Oh, and by the way, it's about 7 hours to Atlanta on a good day. To think you can do it in 7-8 hours on Sunday after Thanksgiving is a pipe dream

[LarsMac]

Take 585. Once you get past Homosassa Springs 19 is not bad.
And sure there are a lot of small towns and 2 lane roads, but it will be a lot less stress, and probably won't take you more than an hour longer.

When I lived in South Florida, I almost always ran that way.
I-75 SUCKS

Whichever way you go, figure about 9 hours.

[crazynip]

19 isnt bad from Crystal River to almost Tallahassee, but in Georgia, you hit a lot of podunk towns with speed limits, overzealous cops, trucks trying to avoid the interstate, traffic lights, etc. 41 is the same way.

It almost might be better to take 19 to 280 and get on I-85 near Columbus, but it's a lot of extra miles and all those podunk towns.

[LarsMac]

Yeah it really depends on where your head's at.
How would you prefer to spend 9 hours?

Crowded in with all the Yahoos on I-75, or sliding along country roads through small town America?

[cee]

so is the 9 hrs unavoidable? i was hoping if i left at 5pm i'd avoid most of the traffic and i'd just catch the tail-end of it all.

for what it's worth, i'm coming from the Brandon, FL area and headed to Buckhead, Atlanta, GA. Given my location in Brandon, would it still be wise to head over and take Veterans Parkway 589 to US19? it takes me a good 45 mins just to get over to that side of the Bay Area. or are there any roads along my way that i could take north to hitch up with 75?

[LarsMac]

Originally Posted by cee

so is the 9 hrs unavoidable? i was hoping if i left at 5pm i'd avoid most of the traffic and i'd just catch the tail-end of it all.

That makes sense, except there are about 30 thousand other guys out there with the same idea.

Originally Posted by cee

for what it's worth, i'm coming from the Brandon, FL area and headed to Buckhead, Atlanta, GA. Given my location in Brandon, would it still be wise to head over and take Veterans Parkway 589 to US19? it takes me a good 45 mins just to get over to that side of the Bay Area. or are there any roads along my way that i could take north to hitch up with 75?

You can take 75 up to SR 54 and cut across.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of construction going on I-75, according to GA DOT, except around Valdosta.
75 will be busy, but at night it will be mostly people who know what they're doing.

And I admit, running 19 at night is not really all that interesting.
I go that way because I like it, but I've been driving that route since it was the ONLY route.


Good luck, whichever way you go. Drive safe and stay awake.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by LarsMac

You can take 75 up to SR 54 and cut across.

Dont do that, you will run into lots more traffic if you cut over at 54. Cut over at SR50/US98 West, then keep on US 98 West (NorthWest) when it splits, which runs into US 19 North eventually, you will avoid a lot more traffic by doing this.

You can also cut over at SR44 near Wildwood.

[cee]

I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THIS THREAD

i just finished the drive today. got on i-75 in tampa at 7:30am this morning, arrive at my place at 3:00pm here in atlanta. first of all, this whole "thanksgiving horrific traffic" was nothing. my car did not go below 70mph the entire time and i set it at cruise control the entire time. a segment of stop and go traffic around perry georgia, only because of construction. add to that the usual ATL traffic when you approach the city, and i got in at 3:00pm. so roughly 8 hrs. do not believe the hype, sure there were cars on the road, but no delays.