Looking at some nice properties near Harpers Ferry, WV and will be buying in 9-10 months. How’s the drive headed in to the BWI/Meade area? I can pick my hours and leave early before morning and evening rush hour. Thoughts? Realistic? I don’t mind a 60-75min drive if it means shooting off my back porch and not dealing with MD laws.
Realistic drive times from the Harpers Ferry area to BWI/Fort Meade?
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5.56blaster
Ultimate Member
With traffic 1.5-2 hours, on a good day without an accident or bad weather. 70 around Ellicott City can be hell in the morning.
He'd probably get off 70 at 32, just before 70 slows.
32 from 70 to Ft. Meade is a bumper to bumper parking lot many days.
I think you'd probably be all right at 04.00 to 05.00 though.
32 from 70 to Ft. Meade is a bumper to bumper parking lot many days.
I think you'd probably be all right at 04.00 to 05.00 though.
I live in Eldersburg and I just avoid 32 altogether if I can. It seems every couple of years I give it a new chance, and it seems worse than before. This is in the morning southbound, maybe 06.30 - 07.30. Afternoons northbound don't seem so bad.
Even if you leave at 4 or 5, your ride home is going to suck. Traffic starts to suck around 2:30 coming home. I drive from Middletown (Frederick) to Pasadena to my marina. I try to get there early and if I don't leave by 2 or so, I wait until like 7.
Ammo Jon
Ultimate Member
- Mar 3, 2008
- 20,970
Have you considered PA? I-83 straight down to 695. Shrewsbury, etc?
Yep. In other words, holy hell.
OP, don't overlook the I-70, I-270, Route 15 interchange. That alone could take you half an hour to get through. Taking I-70 to Route 32 or vice versa is no cakewalk either. Route 32 often slows to a crawl for miles. Route 29 isn't much better because, as 5.56blaster said, I-70 tends to come to a stop for miles near there during both rush hours.
The brutal truth: you're way behind the curve if you think you've figured out a magical way to not live in MD and have a reasonable drive from WV to the BWI corridor. Realistically, a 60-75min commuter drive is Mount Airy to the fort, sure as heck not WV to the fort.
Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on the day. Traffic starts crazy early. My wife sometimes leaves Mount Airy at 4:30am headed towards DC and traffic is still bad. To avoid traffic, her coworkers with long drives (PA and WV) leave home no later than 3:30am, typically 3am.
FrankOceanXray
Ultimate Member
- Oct 29, 2008
- 12,035
Yup. Try over the other direction... but that bridge cam be no fun, too.
83 is still a decent drive that takes you to nice areas. PA can have some heavy tax rates, though.
Looking for a free lunch and it just aint there.
Now, final years of work? Put up with it for only another year... found your dream property... you make things work...
Fredcohunter
Active Member
I drove from Frederick to that area for a little over 3 years. I can assure you 60-75 minute commute is not going to happen often.
I travel a lot but it's while I'm "on the clock". I can't imagine living with these types of Hellish commutes.
+1. I will never understand those types of commutes.
When I got transferred to Ft Myers in 90 figured it was my last assignment before retirement and looked in the Frederick area. Cheap land and houses back then. Put up with commute down 70-270-beltway. Put up with the headaches for close to 4 years. Worth it now but I don’t know if I’d go thru it again. Probably would have lived in Virginia. Winters were the absolute worst time. Even driving to the Shady Grove metro was a pain and didn’t save much time wise. Think if it’s worth it for the long run. Good luck.
A lot of the folks who live in the Eastern Panhandle take the train into DC in the morning. The moment they have WiFi (at the station, or on the MARC) they log in and start counting that towards their hours on their time sheet. 2 hours in, 2 hours out. 4 hours at the office. I could live with that.
But the folks who drive those commutes? Eff that! I did the Alexandria-Leesburg commute for about 4 months. That was more than enough for me. Not worth waking up early and leaving late to avoid the cluster-eff that was the silver-line construction through Tyson's.
travistheone
Usual Suspect
also keep in mind that google maps can tell you all of this. set the time of departure and play with what it says. pretty accurate.
planktonadbc
Active Member
I agree with this. If you live in HF, as long as you leave around 5 you commute will be 1:15- 1:30.
I have to go in that direction to BWI in the morning and I go to the 70 to 695/195 and this is typical.
I commute to Silver Spring and depending on the time I can drive down 270 or take 464/28 to 270 (the scenic route). Typically 1:15 to 1:30.
CrazySanMan
2013'er
340 from Harpers Ferry to Frederick is hell. I used to go that way a lot when going hiking in VA and WV. Friday afternoons it would take an hour just to get from Frederick to where it opens up to 2 lanes at the HF battlefield. That was 4 years ago, maybe they widened the bridge over the Potomac to 2 lanes by now?
My wife's cousin lives in CHarles Town and teaches elementary school in Frederick and she always complains about the traffic.
My wife's cousin lives in CHarles Town and teaches elementary school in Frederick and she always complains about the traffic.
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