I drive up to Englewood Cliffs every day for work passing through Ft Lee, the best way is to drive up along the river, a 35 min trip, avoid any major road that feeds into the GWB or the Lincoln tunnel you'll be stuck in traffic.

I would recommend Rt. 1-9 North to the Turnpike North(Toward the GWB in Local Lane). You then exit at Exit 72. Usually if traffic is backed up from the bridge exit 72 is just about the cut-off point and you can jump off there without too much of a delay. Getting to 1-9 is the real chore. If you work regular hours then traffic will suck on 1-9. The Route 7 way to the Turnpike may be a better alternative. You can also do Secaucus Rd to 1-9 North.

County Road is a street that goes from Tonnelle Avenue to Secaucus.

Map

Covered roadway is Route 139 that leads from Holland Tunnel to Tonnelle Avenue.

Map

Thanks for the additional info and suggestions. I definitely understand that local roads in cities can get pretty congested during rush hours (I'm from Bklyn- so I understand the pain)

Just a few clarifying questions (I apologize if it sounds silly, but I'm from NY, so not familiar with the different NJ routes and roads):

Third Grove: "to take county road to 15E (my way from downtown) or 495 to the next exit north (if you live in the heights), turn of onto route 46 east (as stated in a previous post." - is that County Road 612 or 617?

IanMac47: "take the covered roadway to Route 7"- is the covered roadway Coutny Road 617.

For an alternate, you could take Newark Ave to Palisades to River Road... Driving up River Road through Edgewater to Fort Lee. It might/probably will take longer but IMHO it's a nicer, safer, more inspiring drive. It might be worth it to compare a couple of routes and see what works best. Also, I find that my morning commute is half the time of my evening commute so I go a different way on the return.

Good luck and watch out for the potholes!

Take the covered roadway to Route 7, keep left onto the Newark Turnpike to NJ Turnpike North (15W) (becomes 95N) to Last Exit in New Jersey.

Dante:
Quote:

No you shouldn't drive through local streets. 20,000 people per mile live on every local street between JC and Fort Lee. Naturally, it gets a little crowded.

Conversely, the turnpike extension is really round about. The best (depending on where you live in JC) is to take county road to 15E (my way from downtown) or 495 to the next exit north (if you live in the heights), turn of onto route 46 east (as stated in a previous post.

Here's why:
Traffic jams as people try to cross the GWB or go through the lincoln. You want to limit your interaction with that traffic. By entering on 495 or close to the exit, you avoid the lincoln as much as possible. Further, you should exit at route 46 to get out of the way of the GWB crowd.

Local streets are way too crowded at rush hour to get anyone any place quickly. You have buses which have to stop in neighborhoods, people trying to "beat traffic", and traffic lights timed by towns who don't want to be your commute cut-through.

Good luck getting to fort lee. I think you'll be fine once you find your way. You know, the light rail is suppose to go there one day...

Thanks guys...more specifically, should I take local (County Rd 617/summit avenue) to NJ-495 W to I95N? How is driving through Jersey City (Journal Sq to Heights) during rush hour? Or should I always get onto the I78 extension ( I know this is the longer, less direct route).

I-95 to route 46E to get to Fort Lee, staying on I 95 takes you out of the way.

1/9 North to Turnpike/495 North GWB..

Hey Everyone,

New to downtown JC and had a question regarding traffic into/out of downtown Jersey City.
What is the best way to drive to Fort Lee or Northwest Jersey?
Google Map has me heading through:
*County Rd 617/Summit Ave
*Tonnelle Ave/US-1 N/US-9 N

I want the fastest way possible and avoid local roads in Jersey City. I would appreciate everyone's insight into the traffic pattern of the area.

Much Thanks,

Dan