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Later this week, I'm going to be driving from Boston (where I'll attend a conference) to Columbus, Ohio to visit my sister. I'll stay overnight at a motel somewhere along the way, most probably in Pennsylvania.
I've been thinking myself to go along I-90 until just past Worcester, then I-84 along its entire length (until Scranton, PA), then I-81 (until Carlisle, PA), then I-76/I-70 past the southern outskirts of Pittsburgh (until then, as if I was going from Boston to Pittsburgh), and finally I-70 through the northern panhandle of West Virginia and eastern Ohio. My argument for that is at least partially that that route avoids the potentially heavy traffic congestion of the New York City area. Also, I calculated from a road atlas that the combined distances mile-wise are slightly shorter Boston-Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh-Columbus than Boston-Cleveland and Cleveland-Columbus.
The trouble is that for such directions, Google Maps doesn't give quite that exact route, but instead either a) along I-80 through northern Pennsylvania (after I-90/I-84/I-81) and then I-76 until Akron, Ohio and then I-71 the rest of the way, or b) through the northern and western outskirts of the New York City area (after I-90/I-84 until Hartford and then I-91 until New Haven) and then along I-78 through Allentown, PA, and then I-81 until Carlisle, PA, and then I-76 and I-70, or c) along I-90 through upstate New York and until Cleveland, where one would switch to I-71 the rest of the way.
As a side note, is it my understanding that I-81 through Pennsylvania during the winter can be an especially horrendous Interstate highway compared to the others?
The bottom line is: Which is the quickest way to get from Boston to Columbus?
Twice I went out to Columbus from Boston, and both times I went I-84 to Scranton, I-81 until it merged with I-80, I-80 to when it changed to I-76, I-76 to where it ended and merged with I-71, then I-71 to Columbus.
I will never know if that was faster than taking either I-90 through Buffalo or going through CT around NY to I-78 which is a road I've always tried to avoid. Construction etc can play into it. The times I've taken the PA Turnpike seem to have never been pretty.
if you really are disturbed at the prospect of a few mountains, take the "Water Level Route" (I-90 -- Mass Turnpike and New York Thruway via Albany and Buffalo) to Cleveland, then I-71 to Columbus)
Most people don't recognize that all Interstate-grade highways are engineered to standards which prohibit the sharp curves and steep grades which are the inherent threat in "mountain driving".
Crossing Pennsylvania's northern tier, on I-80 you're seldom more then 10-15 miles from a community of at least 10,000, with the usual amenities, and a number of them are centered on colleges and universities; no scenes out of Deliverance need be anticipated,
I-76 (Penna Turnpike) has more mountains (four of them still require tunnels, which were first dug a century and a half ago, when the route was first engineered as a railroad) ; It would take you further out of your way, and the tolls are a waste of money,.
It might also be note that both the Turnpike and I-80 (at one time known as the Keystone Shortway) are patrolled by specifically-assigned Troops (divisions) of the Pennsylvania State Police.
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Twice I went out to Columbus from Boston, and both times I went I-84 to Scranton, I-81 until it merged with I-80, I-80 to when it changed to I-76, I-76 to where it ended and merged with I-71, then I-71 to Columbus.
I will never know if that was faster than taking either I-90 through Buffalo or going through CT around NY to I-78 which is a road I've always tried to avoid. Construction etc can play into it. The times I've taken the PA Turnpike seem to have never been pretty.
Yeah, seems to me - coming to think of it - that the most direct route is through Youngstown and Akron and not through the eastern/southern outskirts of Cleveland nor through the southern outskirts of Pittsburgh after all.
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