3/10: GW Bridge ice

[Undertoad]

This week there was a traffic holdup because of ice on the George Washington bridge supports, and these gentlemen went up there to solve the problem.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by Tony Shepps
This week there was a traffic holdup because of ice on the George Washington bridge supports, and these gentlemen went up there to solve the problem.

So, instead of taking 4 hours to get across, it took 8...

I'll stick with the Verazzano and roll through the city.

[Chewbaccus]

<sigh> I pity the out-of-towners that were told to take the GW as the best way into the city. It NEVER is. EVER. Belive me, my brother drove us from Pgh. back home once that way and learned his lesson.

~Mike

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by Chewbaccus
<sigh> I pity the out-of-towners that were told to take the GW as the best way into the city. It NEVER is. EVER. Belive me, my brother drove us from Pgh. back home once that way and learned his lesson.

Before I moved to the East Coast, the worst traffic I ever experienced was during evening rush hour in Chicago...and Chicago isn't even considered one of the worst traffic cities anymore.

Then I lived in DC for a year...you have not been to hell unless you've been on the Capital Beltway during evening rush hour on a Friday. I hear Atlanta is even worse.

But last year, my fiance and I went to visit relatives in Boston. We lived in DC at the time and decided to drive up there (we rented a car). I had never been north of Philly, but I figured that driving through NYC would be a bitch.

Boy was I ever right...

We lived near 95 in DC (as we do now), so the ride was pretty straightforward. Things were pretty good as we hit Philadelphia about 5pm. The NJ Turnpike was good as well, and we stopped at the Lombardi Travel Center around 7 or so.

It then took us 3 1/2 hours to drive from there to the NY/CT state line, including 2 hours on the GW Bridge. I believe that distance is about 60 miles or so.

3 1/2 hours?! I thought I had stepped into a parallel universe...what I thought would be 8-9 hours took almost 13 hours.

On the way back, we rolled through the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, then crossed the Verazzano. It cost a little more, but it only took us 45 minutes to get through the city.

I now know better...

[Dagnabit]

Wow -- and all for the privilege of being in, or at least right next to, NYC.

When they talk about the great New York experience, they'll bypass your particular version.

[Chewbaccus]

See, what they neglect to mention is that New York is not recommended for everyone. I moved to this small Pgh. suburb from NYC, and the number of people I've met here that could survive back home, I can count on one hand.

This is a town where there's about 32 white people for every black person. Drop the average citizen here into Times Square, or anyplace with a hint of greater ethnic diversity, and I'm convinced that their chests would cave in and their heads explode. A more hacker-friendly analogy: It would be akin to running "Star Wars: Force Commander" on a Commodore 64.

...And I think I have my doctoral paper topic.

~Mike

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by Chewbaccus
See, what they neglect to mention is that New York is not recommended for everyone. I moved to this small Pgh. suburb from NYC, and the number of people I've met here that could survive back home, I can count on one hand.

I agree. New York is just not for me. I'm sure it's nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. The biggest I could go is probably Chicago. For some reason, I never had too much of a problem driving and making my way through the city.