route from philadelphia area to orlando

Veebyes wrote:

ependydad wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:
With the addition of those Express lanes North Of Baltimore , North of DC and south of DC , it is almost a breeze at times.. The other week I made it back from Ashland AV to Bucks County in 3-1/2 hrs.. NOT TOWING . .

For the DC ones (don't know about Baltimore) - no towing in those lanes. :(

Used the express lanes south & northbound, while towing, on the east side of DC last fall.

No issues from the law. Might have seen signs for no commercial traffic in those lanes.

Well.... I used these lanes today, I will let you all know how HIGH the fine is when I call them next week :-(. Yup , it's illegal...

I could be wrong but I do recall the TOLL express lanes well south of the Potomac then there are the non toll limited access & exit lanes N & S of the Potomac.

True, outside of rush periods the express/limited access lane may seem hardly worth it. Still it was nice to use without the local traffic coming on & off around us. I am sure this works out better for the local traffic as well not having transiting traffic to deal with.

Perhaps during rush hour the Express lanes are worth it, but there's really no point when there isn't a lot of traffic on I-95. Since they've opened, I've traveled through there a dozen or so times outside of rush hour and can't figure out the point of the extra lanes.

I would guess that Law Enforcement isn't going to care if you tow down the express lanes. They probably don't even know it is not allowed.

-Michael

Veebyes wrote:
Used the express lanes south & northbound, while towing, on the east side of DC last fall.

No issues from the law. Might have seen signs for no commercial traffic in those lanes.

When I contacted them, they said "no towing":

Here's what I asked:

Me wrote:
Message: I will be driving down I-95 in 2 weeks (evening of Dec. 16) in a personal (non-commercial) truck and camper (2 axles on the truck, 2 axles on the camper). My truck and camper aren't commercial and the trip is purely personal (going to Florida for the holidays! :)). Am I allowed to use the Express Lanes?

Them wrote:
Thank you for contacting Express Lanes Customer Care.

It would be our pleasure to provide the requested information. Mid-sized trucks such as local delivery trucks may use the lanes as a toll paying customer or carpool. Trucks with more than two axles, including large, 18-wheel trucks are not allowed to access the lanes. Buses are not limited to two axles; any size bus may use the Express Lanes.

You cannot tow anything on the Express Lanes.

For further questions, please contact us at 1-855-495-9777, Monday through Friday (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM).

Safe Travels,

495 Express Lanes Team Member

(my emphasis added)

ependydad wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:
With the addition of those Express lanes North Of Baltimore , North of DC and south of DC , it is almost a breeze at times.. The other week I made it back from Ashland AV to Bucks County in 3-1/2 hrs.. NOT TOWING . .

For the DC ones (don't know about Baltimore) - no towing in those lanes. :(

Used the express lanes south & northbound, while towing, on the east side of DC last fall.

No issues from the law. Might have seen signs for no commercial traffic in those lanes.

ford truck guy wrote:
I guess it is true . . . I am the odd ball ???

I wouldn't call you the odd ball. I prefer I 95 as well. Like you said, it is all about timing. We travel from Southeast GA to Southwest NJ several times a year. The key is when to leave. We generally like to leave at 3 am. When leaving from GA, that gets us to VA a few hours before rush hour and to our destination between 3pm and 4 pm. When leaving from NJ at 3 am, we are close to Fredricksburg, VA by 7 am and past all the traffic, home 4 pm.

From Philly, I-95 south to I-695 East around Baltimore. You can go I-695 West and not pay the toll at Key Bridge, but there's more traffic on the west side.

For me, the wasted time at traffic lights and getting worse gas mileage from the stopping and starting on small country roads is worth the risk of potential traffic on I-95.

-Michael

ependydad wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:
With the addition of those Express lanes North Of Baltimore , North of DC and south of DC , it is almost a breeze at times.. The other week I made it back from Ashland AV to Bucks County in 3-1/2 hrs.. NOT TOWING . .

For the DC ones (don't know about Baltimore) - no towing in those lanes. :(

You can in the Baltomore ones BUT--- there is no access to 695 from them, so I guess you can't ... BUT it does take some of the traffic out of the regular lanes , thus making it an easier ride..

Take your pick. We are based on the Eastern Shore so we have done the CBBT a number of times & we have done the Bay Bridge many times.

The CBBT is fun. Be aware of wind on the day. It can be breezy way out on the bridge when there is not much on land. The Bay Bridge, no charge westbound, is high enough to let cruise ships pass under it but the lanes are no narrower than anywhere else. Nice ride on a good day & then follow 301 all the way down crossing the Potomac well south of DC. Stay on 301. Really pretty trip down the VA tidewater & little traffic.

ford truck guy wrote:
With the addition of those Express lanes North Of Baltimore , North of DC and south of DC , it is almost a breeze at times.. The other week I made it back from Ashland AV to Bucks County in 3-1/2 hrs.. NOT TOWING . .

For the DC ones (don't know about Baltimore) - no towing in those lanes. :(

ependydad wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:
I guess it is true . . . I am the odd ball ??? I travel every couple of weeks from Bucks County to Richmond..
Over the past few years , 95 has become much better.. Don't get me wrong , you can still get corked in traffic , but your chances are much smaller now..
I take 95 to Wilmington , 495 around.. back to 95.. to 695 EAST around Baltimore.. crossing the Francis Scott Key Bridge.. back to 95.. around/threw DC.. right down to Richmond..

The key is what time to go around DC.. I have found that leaving my house around 9:00 am puts me into Richmond ( while towing) right around 1:30-2:00.. 4-1/2 to 5hrs..

We'll be odd-ducks together. I greatly prefer just taking I-95 through. The OP is leaving at 6pm on a Wednesday night and should coast past Baltimore and DC.

With the addition of those Express lanes North Of Baltimore , North of DC and south of DC , it is almost a breeze at times.. The other week I made it back from Ashland AV to Bucks County in 3-1/2 hrs.. NOT TOWING . .