Interstate 95

[cruising_spud]

We are planning to go to Bar Harbor in a few weeks. I would like to travel on Interstate 95 through New England. But, I wondered a few things:

#1-how crowded does Interstate 95 get while traveling through New England?


#2-Any roads/bridges we couldn't travel due to RV size/height or places on the route that you can't bring propane?

Thanks so much.
Kathy

[Tvov]

lol, just realized that I basically just repeated what Crowe posted... 😉

[Tvov]

I95 through the bottleneck of northern Mass / New Hampshire / southern Maine can be very busy on Friday afternoon/night northbound (everyone going north for the weekend) and Sunday afternoon southbound (everyone returning home). If you can avoid Friday and Sunday, travel should be smoother.

For some reason, I've found that Sunday afternoon going south on I95 leaving Maine is worse.

Having said this, traffic is usually not horrible... just slows down.

[cruising_spud]

Crowe,

Not sure about the time yet.Thinking of leaving on a Monday. Thanks for your response.

[Crowe]

If I take I-84 to 495 to 95 to Bar Harbor, will I run into any issues with bridges or tunnels with height issues, or places I can't bring propane? Would this route be completely, crazily busy?

1. No issues with bridges, tunnels or propane on that route.
2. Busy depends on timing. Weekends are nuts in general-Friday/Saturday going north and Sunday going south are particularly bad. What is your planned timing?

[cruising_spud]

Also, my husband and I are retired, so we have the time to take a more scenic route even if it means adding a few hours onto our trip. Thank you again.

[cruising_spud]

Please, I need more help. My sister lives in Connecticut, so I understand the issues of driving through New England and avoiding roads like the Sawmill Parkway. I have just spent time looking and relooking at a map/Mapquest. If I take I-84 to 495 to 95 to Bar Harbor, will I run into any issues with bridges or tunnels with height issues, or places I can't bring propane? Would this route be completely, crazily busy?

Thank you.

[jplante4]

Tvov wrote:
In Connecticut taking 84 to avoid 95... have they done any repair or repaving on 84?

Yup, we went through there last October and it was all done from the NY line through Danbury and Waterbury. We usually jump off at I-691 and go through Middletown and pick up CT 9 to Old Lyme where we rejoin I-95. The reason we do this is because Aces High in East Lyme is usually our last stop before home.

I was pleasantly surprised by I-84 because like you, we avoided it like the plague in the past.

[Tvov]

In Connecticut taking 84 to avoid 95... have they done any repair or repaving on 84? For the last few year the condition of the road has been terrible! 95 is actually in pretty good shape (don't know how long that'll last...). I prefer to put up with traffic in 95 just because 84 is so bad pothole-wise.

Unless they've paved recently.

[cruising_spud]

Wow, so glad I asked. I am going to get a map out and look at the route. Thanks so much.

[DrewE]

Propane is not permitted in the Boston area tunnels (which means I-93 and I-90 in Boston proper). You'd have no reason to be on those roads anyhow for this trip, so that's not a big difficulty, but it's a good thing to keep in mind. Height is not a problem in the tunnels, however, if you're not an overheight vehicle.

[ACZL]

If at all possible, take 84 to 90 like has been stated above. Try to avoid 95 north of Boston near Fri/Sun. Traffic up the wazzule. We got diesel at the TA in NH and was a tad pricey. Next fuel stop was Diesarts (?) near Bangor/just before heading south to BH. More reasonable there.

[ford_truck_guy]

I live in Lower Bucks County, about 10-15 minutes from 95.. I refuse to take my camper onto 95 North and head to New England...

The last trip I took North was this way:
202 North to 287 North to the Tappan Zee to 684 North to 84 East 9 (threw Hartford) to 90 East ( Mass Pike ) to 495 North ( around Boston) .. a bit longer travel wise, but a whole lot easier than traveling the Geo Bridge and 95 in that part of the states...

[jplante4]

Stay off CT15 (Merritt Pkwy) in CT. Low bridges.

I-95 through Connecticut is miserable, starting with the continuous construction in the New Haven area (going on 30 years now) to the 2 lane section east of there all the way to the RI border. If 18 wheelers are passing, everything backs up behind them. The only time I'll travel 95 is Sunday.

I-95 in Mass is a mess. Originally intended to go straight to Boston, instead they routed I-95 along route 128, one of the busiest roads in the northeast.

From Penn, I'd do I-84 through Danbury, Waterbury and Hartford, then pick up the Mass Pike to I-495 and take that to Maine. They have completed the work on 84 and it's in good shape for now. Hit Hartford in the midday, off commute hours.

[cruising_spud]

Thanks for the information. We traveled up to Maine several years ago and tried roads other than 95. The roads were congested and filled with potholes. So, this time around I was considering 95.