Published on 10/14/08
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* Hassle! Longer than some domestic flights!
** If you have to get crosstown, add 20 minutes. Holiday season, add 35 minutes.
*** PM rush: Allow 30 minutes just to battle the FDR.
**** Fridays during the PM rush, add an extra 20 minutes for the Holland Tunnel, says Gridlock Sam.
Tunnel wait-time advice
from Gridlock Sam:
The Holland Tunnel is the worst. Wait times at the tunnel’s entrance can push 45 minutes on Friday afternoons.
Count on waiting at least ten minutes at the Queens Midtown Tunnel at any time of day.
The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is the best for escaping Manhattan.
The Lincoln Tunnel can be “hit-or-miss” starting around 3pm, when the Port Authority starts to reverse the lane directions. Expect to wait 25 to 30 minutes during afternoon rush hours.
Secretive hot tip!
The best-bet entrance for the Lincoln Tunnel: just east of Tenth Avenue at 30th Street. You’ll still hit a small line at the tunnel’s entrance, but you’ll avoid gridlock on the streets.
SOURCES: MapQuest, Traffic.com, Sam “Gridlock Sam” Schwartz
AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES
Traffic in New York is at its worst during November and December. (Thanks, giant tree.)
Rain? Add 45 minutes. Rain on Friday? Add an hour.
U.N. week? Avoid the East Side like the superbug. Escape over the Triborough or through Brooklyn (Battery Tunnel). Don’t even try the FDR.
Whatever you do, don’t take the Queensboro Bridge. Ever. (Ever.)