Fastest route from Vegas to NYC in December

[KJ]

I'm planning to move from San Francisco area to NYC around the new year, first stopping in Vegas for a night.My first plan was to follow I-40, but I heard Texas winter can bring out pretty tough road condition.Getting to the East Coast ASAP is my priority.I have 8 days after Vegas. So my option seems to start out on I-40,go through Arizona, New Mexico then head north to Denver and then continue on
I-70,counting on the Colorado snow removal crews to do a great job.I'd appreciate any advice and insights!

[Mark Sedenquist]

I see you have been reading the posts...

From Las Vegas take I-15 to I-70 and follow it all the way to the east coast. Taking I-40 doesn't really save you much elevation -- Flagstaff is ~ 5000 feet.

Like others have said, the heavy snow storms rarely reach the eastern slope before January. Even if you hit notorious weather you can make NY in five days from Las Vegas -- If the roads are dry and you like long days you can make it three with little difficulty.

mark

[KJ]

>Even if you hit notorious weather you can make NY in five days from Las Vegas

Mark,
Thanks for your comment.Now I feel much better planning this trip.I just ran into this site couple of days ago, and it's been the best help just reading other postings.
Koji

[imported_Angus Bangus]

KJ-


If the weather report for both I-70 and I-40 are not to your liking, you can consider this route. It shouldn't take you longer than a week from Vegas, and it will surely improve your climate when crossing some of the tougher stretches. The editor can check my history, but I believe that the following route was originally intended for winter passages.


You can take US-93 to Phoenix and hook up with I-10. Take I-10 until it forks into I-20. Take I-20 into Dallas and continue NE on I-30. Take I-30 into Little Rock, and hook up with I-40. Take I-40 all the way to I-81 North, which will connect you with I-80 East. 10-20-30-40-81-80. It's less than 3000 miles from Vegas to New York along this route.


ab

[Mark Sedenquist]

Historically I would agree that one has a better than 90% chance of fair weather following that route. However, we have been caught in ice storms twice on I-10 near Van Horn in December. Driving a 7.5 ton four-wheel drive vehicle allowed us to get through it with a minium of encounters with roadside ditches, but nearly all other traffic was stalled for several hours.

So if speed is still the issue -- I-70 is still our choice.

Mark

[KJ]

>You can take US-93 to Phoenix and hook up with I-10. Take I-10 until it forks into I-20. Take I-20 into Dallas and continue NE on I-30. Take I-30 into Little Rock, and hook up with I-40. Take I-40 all the way to I-81 North, which will connect you with I-80 East. 10-20-30-40-81-80. It's less than 3000 miles from Vegas to New York along this route.

Hmmmm. I gotta take a close look at map. Thank you guys!

[Don Woodmancy]

I agree with the postings recommending the I70 route. I lived in the Colorado mountains just off I-70 for several years and the Colorodo Hwy Dept does a superb job of keeping the highway open. In fact, if you have the bad luck to run into severe weather, any of the highways out on the plains are more likely to be obstructed than the I-70 in the mountains. Over the years, I have probably made more than 100 trips across that stretch in the winter and was only stopped once for less than 8 hours. It has the added advantage of being absolutely gorgeous. Have a wonderful trip.

[KJ]

Would I be required to use chains on I-70 or
I-40 and others depending on the weather?
Would I be better off to have chains ready even if they're not required? My Honda has all-weather tires.

Tks.

[imported_Don Woodmancy]

Unless the law has changed in the 20+ years since I lived there, Colorado does not require you to carry chains but, at rare times, may require you to be equipped with either chains or studded snow tires during the periods when it is actually storming and until the passes can be plowed. I drove the mountain roads daily each way from Denver almost to Georgetown for several years and only needed chains on 2-3 occasions. They are probably needed 8-10 times per winter going over the highest passes but that still means you have a very high chance of not needing them. If you carry them, you're potential delay will be minimized but if not, normally there will not be huge delays anyway. You might check with the state's web site to determine current requirements.

[Brandy]

I live in Vegas, and am also moving to the east coast (VA) within the next few weeks. Also, I just drove from Vegas to El Paso and back. I recommend the I-70 route, because all throughout Arizona and New Mexico, there is extensive road work being done on the states' smaller highways. To El Paso I took 93 almost all the way down, and at times was slowed to 25 miles an hour for up to 10 mile stretches. Some places they took the road down to one lane, stopping one direction of travel to let the other through, then alternating. Plus, the cops were like panting dogs at these construction sites because the fines were doubled and the speeds were so slow.