Hoping to get some advice for this, so i posted in the general North East section to cover my enitre trip.

Basically, leaving on a Friday afternoon/evening from DC and driving to Stony Brook / Port Jefferson area. I'm getting conflicting routes from mapping services and GPS systems.
Maybe some locals can offer some advice on which route to take, and which bridges to cross seeing as how it's a friday evening with traffic being horrible.

It prty much a question on what to do next after the NJ Turnpike, and then which highway(s) to take to Stony Brook.

Thaanks!

About what time are you departing? I would advise to schedule so that you won't hit the Verazano until after 8PM.

You have 2 options if you don't want to cut through Manhattan. You can do teh Verrazano which is further south (You will hit that bridge first) or you can travel anothe 15 minutes without traffic and take the GW. Both are always a crap shoot!

Stony Brook/Port Jeff are located on the north shore so you can either take the Verraz and ride along the south shore and cut up or take the GW and ride along the North Shore. Basically it's 6 of one half dozen of another. The only thing with taking teh Verrazon is that you end up on the belt and that leaves you with no outs if there is traffic. If you take the GW, once you cross over you can take the Throggs Neck or Whitestone or even the Triboro. All 3 will lead you to the Grand Central Parkway (called Norther State Pkwy when you are in Nassau and Suffolk Counties). If the Grand Central is congested you can cross over to the LIE.

For Verrazano: You will need to take the Goethals or outerbridge to Staten Island from NJ TPKE in order to get to the Verrazano. There are signs for Verrazano right around Newark Airport (Exit 13-15 I think) that will get you to the Verrazano (No toll going into NY I believe). Once you come off teh Verazano you can either stay left and take the Belt Parkway West. After you pass JFK, you will see signs for Cross Island Parkway. Take that (Can only go North) to the Grand Central PKWY East which will turn into the Northern State. At around Exit 39 you should up on the LIE (495) East. Take LIE to whichever exit you need (Probably Exit 62 (Nichols Road) or 63 (North Ocean Ave). Take those North to your destination.

You can also stay right after you get off the Ver and take the BQE to the LIE (495) east and go to Exit 62-63 (*You will be on teh LIE for a long stretch with trucks and crappy roads, I would avoid this)

For GW: Once you hop off GW, stay to your right and look for the signs for the Triboro Bridge (Queens bound) - Take the Triboro to Queens/Long Island and when you come off the bridge, you will be on the Grand Central. Stay on that until Exit 39 where you hop on the LIE.

You can also take the GW and follow teh signs for Queens (Throggs Neck and Whitestone Bridges) Those 2 bridges dump you onto the Cross Island South. Take that to either the LIE or Grand Central East. I would go Grand Central and pick up teh LIE where I stated above at Exit 39.

There are more options to use, but these are the easiest. If you want, PM me and I can give you my cell for when you come up in case you get lost.

All i know is, once you hit the 495 (LIE) its straight all the way to exit 62. then you take C97 (Nicols Road South) for about 9 miles and youre in stony...

tpke, holland, bqe, lie, nichols

Amazing info Diesel1! Now that's what i'm talkin about. Also, ty WhosRich.. i see ur location is Queens/Stony Brook. Do you go to the school there? I ask because last time i was there i saw a hot G coupe with GTR taillight overlays.

So the thing is, I've made this trip before and used the Verrazano bridge, but oh man it was a nightmare. Nothing but traffic all the way from NJ into Staten, and LI. I figured it'd be better than the Lincoln Tunnel and goin thru Midtown tho.
So that's why this time I wanted to try the GW bridge to Throggs Neck Bridge, just because the Verrazano was such a bad experience. Any good radio stations in the area for traffic reports?... maybe even bridge specific. I saw there is a number I can call (HAT) for the GW bridge status and commute time. I will def shoot for around 8pm or later to cross, as I will be leaving DC at around 4.

So i guess it's still a "crapshoot" btwn Vzano or GW. Last time i did Goethels -> Vzano -> BQE -> LIE to Stony. This time i'll do one of the following:

Goethels -> Vzano -> Belt Pkwy -> Cross Island -> LIE
or
GW -> Throggs Neck -> Cross Island -> LIE

Let me know what you all think of that, and any other suggestions.
Thanks!

Thats pretty much how I go home every night. minus the GW. You might hit some traffic on the GW. But after that, as long as it's after say 7pm, you should cruise right along with only minor traffic(averaging 45 and up) Figure it will probably take you about 60 mins from the Throgs neck bridge.

good luck

DC > Stoney + Friday evening (with some percipitation thrown in) = Priceless.

Who on earth is putting you through this bro. Gotta be son of the devil or whoever she is better be real good

IMO either take the belt parkway route or the midtown tunnel. Fahgetabout the Holland Tunnel man. That's going to put you in an area you don't need to be and will add even more time to your journey.

Don't know about the GWB. That is going to take more north than you want to go and the bridge has become a royal pia almost 24/7 with all that is going on up in that area.

To be honest with you, mass transit might be the better choice if you don't need your ride while out on the Island. Get into Penn Station then take the Long Island Rail Road right to the Stoney Brook station.

On the am side of the radio, 1010 or 880 for news and traffic reports.

Good luck with whatever you deicide man.

ahuja if you have time i'll be at the dealership just call me on the 1800 -- it's my cell phone.

i'm 30 minutes west of Stonybrook but it's a lot to do by my dealership especially great food.

yah, it would probably make more sense if you got an early start on this trip. having seen all the types of traffic from stony straight thru dc, i can confidently say that if you got out of dc at around 10-11, you could probably make it to stonybrook by 3-4 ish. most of the traffic that you'd hit around manhattan starts at around 3PM on a friday. if it were me, i'd avoid that at all costs. personally i'd still do the turnpike, holland, bqe, lie since that drive is pretty easy.

Hhahaha, oh man.. is it that obvious? LOL, yea she is worth it.
Thanks for your response... and everyone else too! You all are awesome.

The more I read, the more I am leaning towards givin the Verrazano another chance. I'll keep an ear out to the radio once i get close.


"Fahgetabout the Holland Tunnel man" LOL, nice.

That's what I'm mainly afraid of.
Heh, thanks tho.

So you will be there on Saturday, Kenny? I heard there are really good burgers around Massapequa (sp?).

While we are on the subject, and since SOCOOL has figured out that im doin this for a girl, lol...
Anyone have any recomendations on COOOOL stuff to do around the StonyBrook area or other not-to-far places on Long Island?
I heard the south shore was a bit more lively than the north shore.
Even a nice relaxing drive along some costal highway would be good, or a lighthouse, isolated beach... or any other outdoor activities.
I'm gonna look for a good IMAX theatre in the area as well, for Spider Man 3

Any recomendations would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks guys.

Bump for good advice, it's the start of the work week. You all should be busy in class or at work, surfin the forum

Btw, found out no IMAX on the island will be showin Spidey3, ah well. Where are some rlly good theatres there?

Burgers in Massepequa...yeah you want ALL AMERICAN BURGER on Merrick Rd. It's not far from Kenny (Less than a mile I believe). Burgers are pretty good but the FRIES...oh MAN THE FRIES...they are like little pieces of heaven! Not to mention, for $10 you can easily feed 2 peeps with shakes.

For other things to do: Since you will be in Stony Brook, Go down to Port Jeff. Great little town to walk around and shop....eat....shop....eat again. Etc.

You can also drive out to Montauk or Orient Point. About 1.5hrs from Stony Brook.
For a quick shopping trip, you can travel about 25 minutes to the tanger outlet (Next to or last exit off LIE going east) If you want high end, you can go to the Miracle Mile in Manhasset. All high end shops...Tiffany's, Gucci...etc.

You guys can ride go-karts at night right near stony brook. There are 2 places right near each other on Middle Country Road.

ISLAND 16 off Exit 62 I believe is supposedly a great movie theater to catch a flick.

I'll think of more stuff and post it up.

^^^ lol i remember that go kart place. sigh the memories....