Traffic is definitely going in waves. I checked i-95 around 7:00pm around the Daytona beach area, northbound and it looked like smooth sailing to GA with a little congestion around JAX.

A co-worker left FLL earlier today and it took her 15 hours to get to Georgia.

I would be looking for gas anytime you get to half a tank. That may be your limiting factor and you won't be getting good mileage due to sitting in traffic. Your best bet may be to go west when you get to 10 and hope it stays east.
Traffic is already bad in GA on 75.

I self evacuated Wednesday morning from Cape Coral. It was a madhouse on I75. Multiple accidents. Traffic alternating between moving and full stopped. South of I-4 on Tampa it took us over an hour to drive 18 miles. Once on I4 east I moved well. 95 was full of traffic but moving well. Once out of GA 95 became normal. Took me 19 hrs to NJ. The traffic is worse now. The FL Turnpike is jammed as is I75 north of Tampa. The longer you wait the worse it will get. 40% of FL gas stations are empty. Zero gas. SC is now evacuating adding to the pressure on I95. We left early for just this reason. Tell you uncle to start without you. Don't delay.

Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island, among other places, have mandatory evacuations tomorrow. I95 is going to be a parking lot. I bet West Palm to Jacksonville is going to take 12 hours or more. Most folks will be jamming up the main roads (I95, I75, Turnpike) I would look for a different route.

Heads up...

Gov of Georgia has directed mandatory evac of coastal areas (i.e. Savannah) effective today.

Gov of South Carolina is going to direct mandatory evac of SC coastal areas on Saturday, but is telling people if they want to leave now, they should.

This will impact traffic on I-95 headed north, and 20/26 headed West. Part of I-20/26 will be one way (westward only, no east-bound traffic) likely over the weekend.

Be careful. Gas stations are not getting their deliveries...less so for those stations on I-95.

I would head west before heading north. If you're not on the road right now, you will likely be paced by the storm all the way up the coast.

I 95 has traffic cams might ck those.
http://i95coalition.org/trafficview/

Emergency Shoulder Use (ESU)
I've heard of at least short stretches of highway being used one-way during evacuations, official plan to use the shoulder for traffic flow is a new one.

Great stuff guys. I'm going to get a few hours of shuteye before I catch the flight. I'll be checking in on the flight and anytime I can along the way. Thanks again!

quote:

Originally posted by Dead_Eye:
Great stuff guys. I'm going to get a few hours of shuteye before I catch the flight. I'll be checking in on the flight and anytime I can along the way. Thanks again!

Look at this as an adventure. You will have stories to tell down the road. Have fun and good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by p113565:
Finding Gas in Florida is a huge issue. FHP is escorting gas trucks to make sure they get through.

So that's what was going on. I saw a trooper with his lights on heading south and there was a tanker behind him. The trooper wasn't going fast like he was trying to get somewhere and didn't seem to be pulling anyone over. It seemed odd at the time, now I know.

US19 was clear sailing this morning. Be warned, there are areas with few gas stations. We passed a couple between Perry and Monticello that were out. We stopped at one that had "Cash only" hand written on paper tags plastered on each pump. Wanting to conserve cash, we moved on.

My wife is a Miami native. She's getting real time updates from friends and family evacuating.

There are no hotels available in FL. Gas is touch and go. Freeways are packed.

Once you get out of FL, you may want to consider turning inland, getting away from the coast. Any extra time and miles may be offset by the availability of gas and hotels along with easier, less crowded roads.

I just landed in FL. I've checked these traffic sites and here's what I got:

Google live traffic - 3:23 to GA line up I95
WAZE - 3:00 to GA line up I95
navbug.com - mostly green/no traffic up I95 to GA
fl511.com - mostly green/no traffic up I95 to GA

I75 has a lot more orange/red with all these sites. So... what's wrong with heading up I95?

quote:

Originally posted by Dead_Eye:
I just landed in FL. I've checked these traffic sites and here's what I got:

Google live traffic - 3:23 to GA line up I95
WAZE - 3:00 to GA line up I95
navbug.com - mostly green/no traffic up I95 to GA
fl511.com - mostly green/no traffic up I95 to GA

I75 has a lot more orange/red with all these sites. So... what's wrong with heading up I95?

Nothing, but i95 is more coastal than 75. If I were leaving, i'd be going up 95 then heading west on surface roads.

Good luck. Safe travels.

quote:

Originally posted by Dead_Eye:
I just landed in FL. I've checked these traffic sites and here's what I got:

Google live traffic - 3:23 to GA line up I95
WAZE - 3:00 to GA line up I95
navbug.com - mostly green/no traffic up I95 to GA
fl511.com - mostly green/no traffic up I95 to GA

I75 has a lot more orange/red with all these sites. So... what's wrong with heading up I95?

From what I see I would run I95. Just keep going and stay ahead of the storm. I95 runs near the coast but if you can stay ahead you should be fine once you hit MD/PA. Might have to spend a day in a hotel if it catches up but as long as your up into MD/PA I think you will be fine.

Good luck.

If 95 is clear per all the traffic info sites, take it! It's your most direct route out of the state from where you are. It's probably so clear because all the east-coasters have already left.

The storm isn't predicted to impact Central FL until Sunday. As long as you are ahead of the Tropical Storm-force winds, you shouldn't have any issues with road closures.

Gas was plentiful in the West Orlando metro today. No lines, no panic that I saw. Drove from Winter Garden to South Orlando, then back, but on different roads. Longest line I saw was at the Turnpike service plaza, and it was being managed by the plaza personnel.

I am likely too late to chime in but reports are that a lot of folks are running out of gas on the highways because they have turned into parking lots. Before attempting a trip of this nature I would want at least three 6 gallon containers of gasoline in the trunk or back. Also enough water and MRE's to last for a minimum of 3 days on the road, because no matter where you stop the motels are going to be full up. I would also plan out a route using state and US routs specifically to avoid the nightmare that the interstates are turning into. Because averaging 35 or 40 miles per hour beats the stuffing out of averaging 10 miles per hour, which is what the interstate routs will turn into with something like 1 or 2 million people trying to make it into Georgia. I would also make sure to have some firearms handy and enough ammunition for 2 or 3 reloads. Because when some people abandon their original vehicle because it ran out of gas I expect that some will be looking to hijack whatever vehicle looks easy to grab.

We're in Beaufort, SC. Made great time, hit minimal traffic and from Vero beach to here we've gone through 12 gallons of gas. The gas stations every step of the way have had a line no more than one vehicle per pump and getting gas has not been an issue, thankfully. I'm off to bed to get an early am start but will write in greater detail when I'm not on a smartphone. All of your input has been greatly appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by Dead_Eye:
We're in Beaufort, SC. Made great time, hit minimal traffic and from Vero beach to here we've gone through 12 gallons of gas. The gas stations every step of the way have had a line no more than one vehicle per pump and getting gas has not been an issue, thankfully. I'm off to bed to get an early am start but will write in greater detail when I'm not on a smartphone. All of your input has been greatly appreciated.

Great progress! We are following you with interest. Be safe.

I think I'd go West, towards the panhandle. That storm will be heading to GA next.