Breezewood PA to OBX route

When traveling to the Outer Banks from Breezewood PA, I usually pickup I95 in DC and head south to Richmond. This is usually very congested on a Saturday in the summer. I recently did a Mapquest search for directions and they had me bypassing DC by taking route 522 and a number of other roads including I81, I66 and route 17. This gets you to I95 about 50 miles from Richmond. Has anyone taken this route before and can you tell me if will save me some time and avoid the I95 congestion. Thanks.

Breezewood PA to OBX route

i%26#39;m originally from the altoona area so we always pass thru breezewood on our way to the OBX. my parents usually avoid the Bmore/DC area and 95 as well - the mixing bowl south of DC can be a total nightmare.

from breezewood, i believe they take 70 to 81 and go down thru winchester, VA and and pick up 95 around fredricksburg and on to richmond that way. i%26#39;d highly recommend avoiding DC and that main 95 thoroughfare.

good luck and have a great trip!

Breezewood PA to OBX route

The 81 to m17 rout is good so is 81 to 66 to 522 my favorite way as it is all country that way and nevr any traffic take a look at this site and click on getting there from the north it has sever ways you can look into I have tried them all and its always a gamble taking 95 and 64 as you never know when you will hit traffic

http://fishoinc.tripod.com/

Cateret,

Being from the Breezewood area, we%26#39;ve traveled both ways. My husband who always does the driving will not EVER go back by way of 95. We take the route you have listed. Try it. It cuts off a LOT of time and is a much more enjoyable trip. We always leave here in the early morning, ie. 2 or 3 in the morning, and get to the OBX Walmart in 6 or 6 1/2 hours (Hubby loves to drive overnight--much less stressful with barely any traffic). Have a safe trip whichever way you decide!

Thanks for everyones input. I think I will be bypassing DC this year.

I always take 522 through Berkeley Springs, WV and Winchester, VA then 50 to 17 down to I-95. I absolutely hate the Beltway around Washington, DC.

We%26#39;ll be heading down that way on August 30 - really looking forward to it.

It takes us about 8 hours from Pittsburgh.

If you get to the D.C. area around 5:00a.m. on a Sunday morning would the traffic be that bad going south on I495. We are coming down the week after 4th of July.

You should be fine as you will hit the richmond area around 6.30 am....traffic will get heavier the later in the morning you wait (esp in the Northern VA area)

We travel to the OBX from northcentral Pa. and prefer to use 70 to 81 to 66 east and from there pick up 17 to 95 near Fredericksburg. 95 in the Richmond area can be really bad if there is a fender bender or construction but the other ways all seem much longer to me.

I guess I was wrong..It only looks like it would take longer. I did a trip tic on my computer for the route 17 route and the 522 route and the time is pretty similar.

I have never tried the 522 route but might be tempted to try it this year. Unfortunately neither of these routes avoid 95 and the Richmond area.

I%26#39;m having a bad day. I messed up again. I didn%26#39;t mean to compare the route 17 trip to 95 with the route 522 trip. I meant to compare the route 17 trip to 95 with the trip through Charlottesville. These two will get you to Richmond in about the same amount of time. I need to put my brain in gear before I write.