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Readers, Travelers, Outlaws. I can not stress this enough to everyone traveling to Rentschler Field in East Hartford today.
You MUST leave as early as possible to get into Connecticut as soon as possible. Traffic, particularly coming from New York northbound tends to bottle up in Fairfield County very quickly, even as soon as 2-3PM. I'm not kidding, I drive home through it ever Friday.
If you're traveling from Massachusetts or Rhode Island or else where in New England, the same rule still applies although I think I-84/I-91 is a little better coming from those directions. Either way, traffic entering the stadium is going to suck. This is a fact, there's only one way in and one way out.
Therefore, I've prepared a little travel guide full of fun information to help you in your travels.
1. LEAVE EARLY
2. THE I-95/I-91 INTERCHANGE IN NEW HAVEN
Seriously, this intersection/exit sucks. There's been construction ever since they completed it a few years ago and you need to pay attention. Know which side of the road your exit is on and get over as soon and safely as possible.
3. LEAVE EARLY!!! (This is going to be a pattern...)
4. PLAN ALTERNATE ROUTES
If you're traveling from New York and it looks like I-95 and the Merritt Parkway (Rt 15) are already a mess, there are a handful of ways of getting north to I-84. The 684 connector in NY, Route 7 in Norwalk and the Route 25 connector in Bridgeport/Trumbull are the easiest ones. Coming from Rhode Island there's Rt. 9 and a myriad of ways from I-395. These are mostly local roads but in case of a major accident, might still be faster than sitting in gridlock. Take a look at Google Maps and figure out an easy way to get off the highway and enjoy the scenic views of Connecticut in the fall.
5. LEAVE EARLY!!!
6. RADIO STATIONS
I'm going to list a few of the ones I'm familiar with here, but but scan the AM dial for news stations and most of the FM music stations have traffic updates every 15 minutes or so during the afternoon rush. I'm sure there are traffic apps and such are smart phones that will help as well. Look up these stations, follow them on Twitter, set one or two into a programmable button on your car radio, and pay attention to major accident reports. For a full list of CT radio stations, click here.
Fairfield County - STAR 99.9 FM (Top 40), PLR 99.1 (Alt Rock) WEBE 108 (Top 40), WICC 600 AM (News)
Hartford/New Haven - WTIC 1080 AM (News), 960 AM (News)
7. LEAVE EARLY!!!
8. TRAFFIC SITES
CT Department of Transportation
News Channel 8 (WTNH - New Haven)
9. LEAVE EARLY!!!
Okay, that's all I've got. Since I'm not going to the game I will do my best to send out traffic updates and if you haven't entered Connecticut by 2 or even 3 PM, expect to encounter a ton of traffic. Be safe out there everyone, and enjoy the game.