Routing question(s)

[4WRXter]

Hello all;
I am new here. I am hoping someone can help me with some routing questions.

My wife and I are heading towards Williamsburg/Virginia Beach. I did a MapQuest search. They want to send me to Winchester, VA on I81S. (Which is fine) Then, MQ says to take RTE 17/John Mosby Hwy towards Fredricksburg, to pick up I95.

My major question is: How is VA Rte 17/John Mosby Hwy? We will be towing a 29 ft travel trailer. And overall, with the awning, I am 105" wide. Might I be better off continuing down I81S to I64E?

Also we are considering traveling to the Outer Banks.

Can I get across the bridges, or through tunnels (if there are tunnels)???

I need to do a little more research on the roads, bridges, tunnels. But hoping for some real world experience.


Thanks for any and all help.

[4WRXter]

Mr. Bumpy: That is an awesome tip. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!

[Bumpyroad]

be aware that when you are coming south from warrenton on 17, that they have changed the turn at Opal. you stay in the right hand lane, and go past the old left turn and there is a new bridge ramp on the right that swings you over to the East where you pick up the old stretch of 17 again. I'm sure your GPS won't show that. in fact when first opened they had a sign saying to ignore GPS directions. 🙂

google earth shows the new turn.
bumpy

[2hams]

Your best bet is I81 to I66 to US17 to I95 to I295 to I64.

A day trip from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach means at least an hour drive each way, and more if you time it during rush hour.

From Williamsburg to Outer Banks follow I64 then either stay on I64 through Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) or take I664 through the Monitor Merrimack Tunnel (M&M) depending on traffic then 168 to OBX.

For any tunnel you just stop at the checkpoint and show that your propane is off.

[4WRXter]

Thank you, everybody for the info. I deleted the map link, because I just couldn't get it to show what I want it to.

It's looking like we will stay a few days in Williamsburg, maybe a few days in Virginia Beach (or maybe just day-trip from WBurg). Then on to Outer Banks for a few days, then home.

Again, thank you all very much for the friendly help.

[AdirondackJack]

We drove from Rochester, NY to Myrtle Beach for many years. 17 is by far the best and easiest route from I-81 to I-95 (and we tried them all!). The rolling hills and horse country you travel makes it a picturesque ride. We pulled a 38' Fiver without a problem. Once on 95 you are near King's Dominion theme park and RV campground which is not a bad stopover and EZ off and on. It was closed for renovation so call them if it interests you. They shuttle from the campground to the Park and also their restaurant which has pretty good food last time we were there.

[darsben]

Used 17 all the time it is fine. used to pull horse trailers that route and AAA used to show it as a routing.
Waffle house just a you get on 17 so get em all the way for me. Near Warrenton, VA if you stay on 17 you will go past two places to gas up while 17B takes you into Warrenton but with more gas choices. The BP on 17 is usually 5-8 cents higher than any place else but people stop there cause the do not know;
It is a pretty drive

[K_Charles]

We take US 17 often and have been from VA to FL on it. It is all good road if you don't mind a stop now and then. It is by far the best way to go where you want to go except as said above I would go 81 to 66 and then 17.

[Bumpyroad]

4WRXter wrote:


My major question is: How is VA Rte 17/John Mosby Hwy? We will be towing a 29 ft travel trailer. And overall, with the awning, I am 105" wide. Might I be better off continuing down I81S to I64E?

might want to take I-66 over to 17 as it would be about the same distance.
bumpy

[CloudDriver]

Couldn't get your route to show. When Mapquest came up all it showed was point B in Auburn ME. Tried it in both IE and Firefox with same result.

About route 17 - We have used a portion of 17 going back to NJ from Williamsburg. We picked up 17 in Yorktown and later drove north to route 301 and continued to I95 in DE. It's been a number of years, but I don't recall any issues with that portion of 17.

From Williamsburg to OBX, we take I64 to route 168 to route 158. IIRC at the tunnel on I64 you have to stop to turn off the propane before going through.

A slightly more fun route that avoids the tunnel is to take the Jamestown to Scotland ferry (free) then take routes 10 and 17 to I664 around Norfolk to route 168.