Bayonne From CT Holland or GW

[wall6363]

Hi,

We are leaving on LOS Thursday 05/21/15. Can anyone give me any information as to which route we should take. We can either take 95 to GW or hop on 15 to the Holland tunnel. We will probably leave very early in the morning to avoid the morning commute going into the NYC area.

Thanks

[138east]

Where are you coming from in CT? On a weekday morning it may not be worth hitting the NY/CT border before 9 am.

 

Here are the cars only directions through NYC. In general I advise going across the GW Bridge because most folks are freaked out by driving through Manhattan. However, I am driving down in June on a Sat to cruise and I will probably just go down the west side of Manhattan to the Holland tunnel and pay the turnpike tolls only from exit 14c to 14a. However, I will definitely be taking the Merritt/Hutch through southern CT and Westchester County.

 

Directions from Mass

 

If you come out the Mass Pike, you pick up I84 west in Auburn and I91 south in Hartford. You take exit 17 marked W Cross Parkway. This becomes the Merritt Parkway at Milford.

 

If you come down I95 there is a cutover to the Merritt at Milford CT exit 38. At Rye NY there is another cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway South exit 21 immediately after exit 1 in CT. This cutover is longer than the one at Milford and involves getting off onto I287 West and following the signs to the Merritt/Hutch. You get off onto a service road, go through a few lights and take the turn for the Hutch south.

 

The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($5 toll - if no EZPass they will bill you in the mail and you need to pay it!). The toll is worth every penny.

 

You take the George Washington Bridge exit and slide over to the middle left lane. Follow the NJ Turnpike signs. When you get on the turnpike, follow the first set of Lincoln Tunnel signs to get on the eastern spur of the turnpike, but don't get off at the actual tunnel exit. Continue on to exit 14-14A-14B-14C and follow the signs to exit 14A.

 

The are no trucks on this route from Meriden CT to the GW Bridge and you will avoid any traffic issues on the Cross Bronx Expressway or the intersection with I87.

 

At exit 14A please follow these directions. Others have followed them successfully. The signage is poor. There are lots of choices and you have to make a quick decision as to where you are going. For a first timer there's not time to stop and try to spot the correct little sign and I'm not sure the names of all the streets are clearly marked. GPS is not 100% reliable in this area.

 

After you pay your toll you go straight across the toll plaza and get on a 2 lane ramp that goes up and curves left. This is hard to miss. On the ramp you stay on the right and make the first right, stay to the right and make another right. You will come to the light at route 440 where you will make a left, stay left, and make a left at the first light onto Goldsborough Drive. Route 440 is a four lane divided highway. You can only turn left at a traffic light - going south the first light is now at Goldsborough Drive. The left turn into the port used to be at Port Terminal Blvd (and it still is coming the other way), but they shut down that turn fairly recently and made Goldsborough Drive the main port access road coming from the north. Goldsborough Drive will merge with Port Terminal Blvd. You will be able to see the ship and you just follow the crowd about 2 miles out to the ship.

[wall6363]

Hi,

Thank you

We are from Wallingford, CT, which is the town just south of Meriden. We have traveled down several times to the Manhattan Cruise terminal and into battery park area. We are very familiar with that route. I was curious about the Holland tunnel because it looks closer to the port. We would like to hit NYC area by 7:00 am. I know we will have a lot if time to kill before actually arriving in port. We were planning on stopping in NJ for breakfast. I just don't want to get caught in any traffic problems.

[138east]

That's ambitious. You might want to check this place out. http://www.yelp.com/biz/brownstone-diner-and-pancake-factory-jersey-city

[mking8288]

If you can "hit" Lower Manhattan - Canal Street/West Side Hwy area for the approach to Holland Tunnel by 7 AM, you will be fine - with 2 lanes of traffic in each direction, the flow is generally geared for inbound traffic - including buses from points south & west of NYC into downtown. Then, you are good with lots of time to spare for breakfast & hangout at Cape Liberty for embarkation, etc.

If you are speaking more of hitting NYC's suburban border (Westchester/Bronx) via the Merritt/Hutch at 7 AM, then, I would NOT want to drive down the West Side Hwy as that's another 45+ minutes worth of driving, smacked into & alongside the weekeday morning commuters' flow - in which case, go across the GW Bridge to NJ and then down the Turnpike to Exit 14, etc. - and have a nice, long & relaxing breakfast on the Jersey side somewhere - etc.

-

There is simply no way to assure you to avoid last minute traffic problems in & around NYC area, especially on a typical weekday morning - even a mass transit incident, like the Amtrak derailment last night (RIP & prayers for their losses & recovery for the injuried ... First Responders did an excellent job !!) would ruined the best planning. Appoint your co-pilot/front seat passenger to act as your chief navigator to check live Maps/NAV & radio for updates as you buzz along - and watch for those overnight road/construction work on I-15 and/or I-95 (check the CT DOT website for advisories ...)

Edited May 14, 2015 by mking8288

[wall6363]

That's ambitious. You might want to check this place out. http://www.yelp.com/biz/brownstone-diner-and-pancake-factory-jersey-city

Hi,

Thank you!

We have decided to drive in the evening before on 05/20/15. After reading all of various posts we just booked a room in Elizabeth, NJ. The Embassy Suites on

Glincher Reality way. We will just drive and park at the port the next morning.

Thanks Again!

[wall6363]

If you can "hit" Lower Manhattan - Canal Street/West Side Hwy area for the approach to Holland Tunnel by 7 AM

 

Hi,

Thank You. Yes that was what we were planning. We have decided to book a room and drive in the evening before.

Thanks Again

[TruckerDave]

From where you are starting from, I'd just take I84 west to I87 south to I287 to NJ17 south to the turnpike and avoid the whole I95 mess and NYC all together. (Or I84 to I684 to I287 across the Tapenzee then NJ17 south to the turnpike.)