[MR] Northern Route to Crusades

[Dave Montuori]

Lidia wrote:
>> I have been studying maps, mapquest, and the advice of relatives in the 
>> Richmond area, and I am seriously thinking about taking the Northern 
>> route from the Charlotte area to Kingdom Crusades in order to avoid 
>> D.C. traffic, especially on a Friday afternoon. This entails taking 81 
>> across VA to Hagerstown MD, and cutting over from there [70, 695, 95]
>> It looks like it's about 35 miles longer driving, but not through DC

This is the Shenandoah Valley route.

Olwen responded:
> Hmm...that is surely the longest way from there to here.  Why not get out 
> your map and look at this route that also avoids DC and will work for you if 
> you don't have the bridge/tunnel fear.
> 95 N out of Richmond to
> 301 N which turns into (toll bridge)
> Rt. 3 N then catch
> 97 N and then up by Balt. catch either
> 895 spur thru the tunnel (toll)
> OR
> 695 E either way will meet you up with (dont know about a toll here)

Side comment: 95 and 895 are both toll tunnels. 695 east is a toll bridge. 
The only FREE expressway to get you past Baltimore is to take 695 west and 
all the way around; not worth the trouble.

> 95 N above Balt and take that to
> Rt 24 W and then take a right turn onto
> Rt 1 N which will bring you right to Darlington.

I'm quite familiar with the 301 route, as it is the most direct way from 
one set of relatives (Northern Neck of VA) to another (Bel Air MD, not far 
from the site in question). You aren't really avoiding Friday afternoon DC 
rush hour using it. You miss the worst parts, yes, but not all of it. 
There are also lots of traffic lights on 301/3 between US-17 and I-97.

Another consideration is going through the Triad, Chapel Hill/Durham, and 
Petersburg/Richmond on Friday. Going up 77 to 81 would trade those metro 
areas for Roanoke.

All in all, I suspect one will make better *time* using the Shenandoah 
Valley route even though the distance is considerably greater. One's 
average speed is likely to be 15-20 mph faster for the trip in general.

Evan