<p>We are driving down to Bama in a few weeks and I was wondering what the best route is? When we went last summer we drove out to Harrisburg, PA and then south from there on Route 81. We would rather go down 95 and head west somewhere off of there. Just not sure if we should go all the way to Atlanta and then head west or if there is a better way. Thanks!</p>
<p>Karen</p>
<p>have you tried mapquest- it is usually the most accurate</p>
<p>I don’t have a suggested route but I would avoid Atlanta if at all possible. Try to use map quest or google maps and “avoid” Atlanta as an option and see what the other routes are :)</p>
<p>The distance from the philly suburbs to UA is just about the same via I-81 and I-95. We always take the western route, because I-95 just has too many bottlenecks between Delaware and northern VA. And the scenery is nice!</p>
<p>81 is definitely more scenic than 95, and you avoid all the cities that way, but there are also more trucks on 81. If you take 95, there’s no way to avoid Atlanta.</p>
<p>if it was me I would definitely do 81- what about Southwest- to Birmingham??</p>
<p>I suppose you could take 95 as far as the Washington beltway and take Rt. 66 to 81, too.</p>
<p>Then you have to pay all those ridiculous tolls, lol.</p>
<p>There are plenty of ways from NJ to Tuscaloosa. If you take 81, then you’d continue to I-40 in TN while most maps would have you then take 75 South (where you’d have to deal with Atlanta) I’d suggest continuing west on 40 to 840 to I-24. You’d pick up I-59 just north of Chattanooga and then take I-59 all the way to Tuscaloosa. </p>
<p>I-20 does intersect with I-95 somewhere around Florence, SC so that’s an option but you end up driving right through the middle of ATL. I just did the drive from ATL to Tuscaloosa yesterday and there is a lot of construction on I-20 in Alabama.</p>
<p>Try to avoid Atlanta. Even as a Jersey driver, Atlanta can be a nightmare. I’d also ask where in NJ are you driving from? When we’ve had friends drive to visit us here in Nashville, they’ve taken all kinds of routes. One set of friends took I-80 through PA into OH then picked up I-71 to I-65 which will take you all the way to Birmingham. </p>
<p>John who used to post on here did the drive from NJ all the time. </p>
<p>I’d also think about where you might want to stop along the way.</p>
<p>I meant to add this although you probably wouldn’t want to do this for this trip, but there is an Amtrak line that runs from New York to New Orleans and it stops in Newark and in Tuscaloosa: [Amtrak</a> Crescent - the Train Travels Daily from the Big Apple to the Big Easy, between New York City and New Orleans](<a href=“Amtrak”>http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Route_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241245668168)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Normally we would fly but because we are going to be down there for so long we are driving. I’m not sure which route we are going to take - we like 95 because it is easy to find places to stay overnight and to get off to eat or get gas, etc. </p>
<p>Karen</p>
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<p>That’s an awfully circuitous route, esp since 75 goes from Knoxville to Chattanooga before going to Atlanta.</p>
<p>Well, I-75 drops you south of Chattanooga. To access I59 and avoid Atlanta, you’d have to get on 24 West and go just north of Chattanooga and hop on I59. Which I think would be worth the mini-detour…actually I just entered Clifton NJ to Tuscaloosa AL in Mapquest and that’s exactly what it said to do. I stand corrected :)</p>
<p>We live just a few miles off I-81 near the TN/VA border so I can comment on this part of the drive. All UA students drive to Tuscaloosa via I-81/I-40/I75/I24/I59. Atlanta is out of the way. Just did this drive the past two weekends and it was exactly 6 1/2 hours. No real congestion except Chattanooga. Good restaurants and hotels along the entire route, especially in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Birmingham.</p>