Best route from Allentown PA to Long Island NY to Calverton

Also, on the way back into NJ from NY, if you come over the George Washington Bridge, tourists often get overwhelmed by the many options of which way to go, and lots of last minute lane changes here (and accidents)

fireman41 wrote:
This is the way I used to cross in a truck and is also the way I'm going to go to get to Wildwood State part this summer .

I78 to I287 to 440 to I278 to I 495.

This is a lot better than it used to be. Open road tolling at the Verrazano bridge should help the usual 440 backup on Staten Island a lot. Half of the new Goethals bridge is up. The new Koskiusko Bridge on the BQE is open, so it's a better alternative to the GWB/CBX than it used to be.

For those not familiar with the Goethals Bridge, it connects NJ with Staten Island. Here is a view on the bridge:



The bridge has two 10' wide lanes, not the 12' that is standard for interstates. If you think I-95 through the Bronx is white knuckle, taking your RV over this bridge with semi trucks takes white knuckle to a whole new level.

This span is closed now, and is being replaced by a pair of new cable-stayed spans with 12' lanes. One span is open handling traffic both ways, and will go to one-way when the second span is open.

One of the new spans with 12' lanes:

This is the way I used to cross in a truck and is also the way I'm going to go to get to Wildwood State part this summer .

I78 to I287 to 440 to I278 to I 495.

I hate NY with a passion. I refuse to drive past the GW. It not for the faint hearted and I don't think you can use the Holland. You have to go across the GW pay your $50 or whatever it is then follow 95 That's it and be prepared for the worst bumps you have ever driven over. Instead of Moles they ahve burrowing Elephants leaving mounds. I have, in recent years, refused to go to Albany and am near the point of staying out of the Tug Hill-Adirondack area. My wife has relatives up there and they don't come to Va.

ford truck guy wrote:
****** DO NOT PLUG IT INTO YOUR GPS, OR WAZE ****

I travel to our Long Island facility all the time for work. The waze app does not give a **** if your towing and will take you on the wrong roads.. IF it says parkway in the name, it will most likely have a height restriction, possibly as low as 10'.

From the south, I take 95 to the GW Bridge, to the Throgs Neck Bridge ( rt 295 ).. take that to the Long Island Expressway,,, LIE.. rt 495 east

X2...Most direct route and IGNORE the GPS. I make the run several times a year starting at 0700 from Baltimore and hit Garden City with good traffic by 1100 with a MH and a toad. Coming back, I leave at 0400 and can be back in 4 hours with one stop. All things working out of course. Yeah, the CBW has potholes, deep sewer grates and the darkness can really make you believe you are in some type of death race adventure. Yep, some days it is white knuckle and my BP is off the charts. All part of the fun.

****** DO NOT PLUG IT INTO YOUR GPS, OR WAZE ****

I travel to our Long Island facility all the time for work. The waze app does not give a **** if your towing and will take you on the wrong roads.. IF it says parkway in the name, it will most likely have a height restriction, possibly as low as 10'.

From the south, I take 95 to the GW Bridge, to the Throgs Neck Bridge ( rt 295 ).. take that to the Long Island Expressway,,, LIE.. rt 495 east

747 Is the quickest unless you want to see things along the way

Good advice about having a full tank of gas, but Allentown isn't that far. The CT ferries are a nice ride for sure buy waaay out of your way.

#1 thing to watch out for on Long Island are PARKWAYS. DO NOT take any route that includes a parkway, there are signs that will say NO TRUCKS. Be careful because parkways have LOW bridges, some as low as 8' :E Some exits are very close together, and about once a week the State Police have to tow a semi off of one of the parkways...

That said, we go to PA quite a bit and generally the best route from Allentown is I-78 East to Newark, then I-95 north (NJ Turnpike) to X18 I-80E, George Washington Bridge (GWB). I-80 will split, stay to the left in the Express lanes (unless ETA sign shows big delay then go local side). I-80E will end and turn into I-95N, this is only a marking change, you're on the same road.

Continue over GWB on I-95N Cross Bronx Expressway and watch for signs I-295 Throgs Neck Bridge (DO NOT take the previous exit I-678 Whitestone Bridge even though it will say Long Island.) Continue on 295 to I-495 East, Long Island Expressway (LIE), and that will run you right out to Calverton.

This route that I just outlined is the simplest, best marked, and should take on average 4 hours with moderate traffic. There are some alternatives like taking 287 to 80 in NJ, or going South on 95 to the Goethals and Verrazano bridges, but that the southern route puts you on I-278 Brooklyn-Queens Expy (the BQE) which is torture....No matter what you will end up on 495 LIE once on LI, it is the only limited access highway going East, everything else is either a local road or a parkway.

Tappan Zee (now the Gov Mario Cuomo Bridge) is also waaaay out of your way and not a good option unless catastrophic closure on the GWB because traffic going up 287 and back down 95 from the TZB is not any better.

Regarding timing, be aware that the Allentown area is now considered commutable to NYC, so traffic will build on I-78 and I-80 starting at 5:00 am. Either leave Allentown later in the morning, say 9:00 am or wait until later like 6:00 pm when everyone is heading West. By the time you get to Long Island the LIE should be less clogged.

EZ Pass is highly recommended, we just installed open road tolling on the Throgs Neck and other East River crossings, so if you don't have EZ Pass, you'll need to pay online with a penalty like they do in Chicago. There are tolls on all bridges and I-95 and without EZ Pass you will suffer.

Sorry for the long post, lots of info. If you have questions, PM me and I'll give you my cell #. Happy to help. When the kids were little, Eastern PA was a favorite weekend vacation spot, so the rig in the sig pic has made that trip a zillion times. TT before this one was 2' longer, 34' vs current 32'.

just type a route and it will show real time traffic congestion.

If you plan to make this run at might around 10 pm using the shortest route like the rt 80 GW bridge, then I would use a real time traffic APP to guide me through. You can see what roads are open and give them a go. Just keep an eye on the road surface in the hub of NY .
Those holes can rip a flat screen off a wall. Make sure things are secure inside the TT.


Local updated traffic conditions

Personally, I only cross NYC at night....like 3AM night. The trucks start to roll at 4 A.M.
Too much commercial traffic during the day as well as business commuters who live on L.I. and work in NJ. Avoid rush hours completely and the times in-between will be pure luck. One accident can cause congestion that will keep you in traffic for 2,3,4,5 hours. Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you enter NYC, you never know how long its going to be.

IMO, you have 2 options.
1. take the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River rt 287 then south on rt 95 to Long Island.
2. if you have a jam up , this is the more expensive option but can be a good option. Take the Tappan Zee Bridge then head north on rt 95 into Conn. you'll have 2 optional ferries to cross L.I.Sound and land in Suffolk county near riverhead NY.
https://www.longislandferry.com/Common/Help.aspx?page=fares

One is in Bridgeport Conn to Port Jefferson NY (25 mi. west of riverhead) . The other is n New London Conn and lands in Orient Point (30 mi. east of Riverhead ). Its a nice ride and offers a relaxing cruise for an hour or so. Pets are welcome.
I would keep the phone number handy just in case, make a reservation while your on the road, it saves you an RV spot on board the ship.

I did use the following route some years ago .
I would avoid the G. Washington bridge rt 80 into rt 95 Cross Bronx Expy.
It's too congested and on separate trips , I broke one WH hitch and one aluminum frame rail on the trailer. A lot of potholes.

I would head east on rt 80 thru PA and pick up rt 287 to cross the Tappan Zee bridge.
Con't down across rt 287 to rt 95 south. This will give you 2 options to get onto long island in the queens area (actually NYC)

1. The Whitestone Bridge , cont down the Whitestone Expy rt 678 to rt 495 (long island expy)
OR you can take the Throgs Neck Bridge rt 295.

I prefer the Throgs Neck Bridge to the southbound Clearview Expy rt 295 , then take rt 495 east to wherever you need to go....Riverhead is the east end of rt 495 exit 72.