NYC to Portlan , Oregon solo drive

Dear RTA member,
I am planning on driving from NYC to Portland , Oregon with a car full of home goods as I am relocating at the end of this month.

Looking for suggestions and tips as to which would be the safest way for a solo driver to take. I am flexible on time and am aware of taking at least 6 days for driving. Do I take the I-80 and I-84 at that time of the year? I am a little concerned about driving conditions thru the mountains.
Any suggestions, on cities to stop in after about 500 miles of driving daily would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Kat.

Welcome to RTA!

You can't predict the weather this far in advance, so you need to be flexible and able to change your planned routing. However, in general, you want to keep elevation changes to a minimum, which would favor I-90. Also - you would want to avoid possible lake effect snow and traffic around Chicago, with the side benefit of considerably less tolls. Here is my recommendation, this will take 6 days if you keep it down to 500 miles a day:

Take I-78 out of NYC to I-81 in PA. Take that south to I-70 in MD, then take I-70 west to I-68. Take that west to I-79 in WV, take that north to I-70 in PA. Take that west to Indianapolis, then I-74 west to I-80 in IL. Take that west to I-680 in IA, take that west to I-29 north to I-90. Take that west to Ritzville WA, take US-395 to Kennewick WA, then I-82 east to I-84 west to Portland.

Suggested city bypasses:

Wheeling WV: I-470
Columbus OH: I-270 south
Indy: I-465 south

Suggested overnights:

Cambridge OH
Galesburg IL
Sioux Falls SD
Buffalo WY
Missoula MT

Hello and thank you for your suggestion. I have mapped out the suggested cities and it seems like a good route for the mileage im looking to cover daily. Should i expect any road closings this time a year in the area. I understand weather is unpredictable, but maybe you are familiar with the yearly conditions that occur in the Montana/ Washington area?

Thank you again,
Kat.

It's unlikely that an Interstate highway would actually be closed, but driving conditions do have the potential to be tough. However - I-80 across Wyoming does close from time to time, due to it being high plateau with strong winds and black ice. That's one reason I suggested I-90 instead. Between Spokane and Portland, I wouldn't expect any problems, you are completely out of the mountains.

If you are part way across and the weather and road conditions get bad, just go find a hotel and wait it out.

Near-real time road conditions can be found at safetravelusa.com. The site is usable with a smartphone, but somewhat cumbersome. It's a clickable map of all the states, which links to each state's official DOT site, some of which are mobile-friendly.

There is no "yearly conditions" that can be predicted to provide any useful info for your trip, other than as GLC mentioned, lower elevation can be helpful to a degree.

Yes, there is plenty of snow that falls in Wyoming and Montana (Just like there is plenty of snow that falls in pretty much every state you'll be driving through). It is entirely possible that you could see a storm that could close the Interstates for a day or two, it's also entirely possible that you'd have perfectly clear conditions and no weather problems at all. The interstates are the backbone of the American economy, so they get top priority when their is bad weather, and are never closed longer than they need to be. That's also why GLC started his response by noting you still have to really keep an eye on the weather forecasts and be flexible, it is possible that on the specific days you will be traveling that you might be better off using I-80.

thank you both for your input on my inquiry. Certainly a big help and i am grateful for it. Hope the weather is to my advantage !
Take care !

I concur with GLC that I-80 closes from time to time.

In my trips from Colorado to Seattle several years in a row I've either encountered or found that I-80 was closed while my I-25 to I-90 route was still open.

This doesn't mean road conditions on I-25 and I-90 were clear and sunny just that the roads weren't closed. (For example- I-25 with 35 mph crosswinds and ground blizzards near Cheyenne was still open because traction was ok and no semis had blown over on the roadway.)

While I agree with most of the advice expressed above, I would still caution you to look at the weather before you leave and keep up with it as you travel. Keep paper maps with you and stay open to the possibility of change. While it is quite true that I-80 will close from time to time, my husband (who is an ex-trucker) remembers being holed up in Montana along I-90 once or twice, and on I-25 as well, because the road was shut down. There are gates along the entrance ramps for I-90, 94, 80, and even along 70, where no traffic is allowed on to the freeway while sections are barricaded off and traffic currently on the road is forced off. As my husband said, they got to know a truck stop all too well during those conditions. Once they were able to get a motel room, but other times, they left available hotel rooms for those who weren't traveling with their own bunks, as they were.


Donna

Whereas others have advised on the road and weather, I would urge you to familiarise yourself with which hotels/motels are ava9ilable along the way, even in places you do not plan to stop. Just in case you will be held up, it is good to know which places have a good selection of accommodation.

As a solo traveller another safety measure is to ask to see the room when you check into a motel. Check it before you pay. Besides seeing that it is clean and all that, check the smoke alarm that it has not been disabled, and make sure the door has a lock which cannot be opened from the outside, such as the chain/bolt lock.

Have a great trip.

Lifey