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| Low sun over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The bridge had arranged its own backlighting. |
Our previous post left us at Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan, at the end of a very different India trip. By February 17, 2024, we were back in Maryland with Shehzadi, our overlanding Toyota Tundra, and a road pointed northeast.
This was a standalone drive from Germantown, Maryland, to Hamden, Connecticut. The route crossed Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, over the Susquehanna, Delaware, and Hudson rivers, and through a stop on Oak Tree Road in Iselin. Five states in one drive is efficient, though the toll agencies may have regarded it as a group project.
Germantown to Hamden Drive — Post Summary
This one-day East Coast drive follows Shehzadi from Germantown to Hamden by way of MD-200, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the New Jersey Turnpike, Oak Tree Road, the Palisades Interstate Parkway, and the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, still widely called the Tappan Zee Bridge.
| What's Covered | |
| 🚙 | Germantown to Baltimore via MD-200 and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel — I-270, MD-200, I-95, and I-895 |
| 🌉 | Susquehanna River to the Delaware Memorial Bridge — John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, Delaware Turnpike, and I-295 |
| 🍽️ | New Jersey Turnpike and Breakfast on Oak Tree Road — a toll-road leg with a stop in Iselin |
| 🌉 | Palisades Interstate Parkway and the Hudson River Crossing — I-287 and the Tappan Zee Bridge crossing |
| 📍 | Connecticut to Hamden — I-95 through Fairfield County and the final turn inland |
We left Germantown in Shehzadi, joined southbound I-270, and turned east on MD-200 before reaching I-95. From there the route used I-895 through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, crossed the Susquehanna River on the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, entered Delaware on I-95, and reached New Jersey over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. After our Oak Tree Road stop, we continued north to the Palisades Interstate Parkway, crossed the Hudson on I-287, and followed I-95 into Connecticut before turning toward Hamden. The map linked with the video below is simpler than that sentence, which is one of several reasons maps remain employed.
Route at a Glance
- From Germantown to Baltimore, we used I-270, MD-200, I-95, and I-895 through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.
- From the Susquehanna River to New Jersey, the route followed the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, Delaware Turnpike, and Delaware Memorial Bridge.
- The New Jersey Turnpike provided a long toll-road leg, interrupted by a stop on Oak Tree Road.
- The Palisades Interstate Parkway followed a protected cliff corridor before the Tappan Zee Bridge crossing.
- I-95 carried us through Fairfield County before we turned inland toward Hamden.
Watch: Germantown, Maryland to Hamden, Connecticut Drive
(MAP)
Germantown to Baltimore via MD-200 and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel
We began by merging onto southbound I-270, a mildly counterintuitive move for a trip whose main ambition was northeast. MD-200 soon corrected the compass. The Intercounty Connector runs east across Montgomery and Prince George's counties and links the I-270 corridor with I-95. It was Maryland's first all-electronic toll road, so toll collection happens at highway speed by E-ZPass or video billing. Nobody has to stop and search the cup holder for coins last seen during a previous administration.
At I-95 we turned north, then used I-895 to pass beneath the Patapsco River through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. The 1.4-mile tunnel opened in November 1957. Its twin tubes were assembled from 21 prefabricated sections, and about 6.5 million ceramic tiles line the interior. The tiles are practical, washable, and numerous enough to make bathroom renovation estimates feel timid.
The tunnel gave Baltimore through-traffic a direct north-south bypass under the harbor. For our route, it also marked the first major crossing of the day without showing us the water we were crossing. Tunnels are good at transport and poor at scenery. This is probably for the best.
Susquehanna River to the Delaware Memorial Bridge
North of Baltimore, I-95 becomes the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway for the run toward Delaware. We crossed the Susquehanna River on the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, a steel truss carrying I-95 between Harford and Cecil counties. The river was the first broad open-water crossing after the enclosed Patapsco passage, which made it feel as if the road had removed the roof.
We stayed on I-95 past Elkton and crossed into Delaware on the Delaware Turnpike. Near Wilmington, the route shifted to I-295 and aimed at the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The name is singular, but the crossing has two suspension spans. The first opened in 1951 and the second in 1968, because traffic had already demonstrated its famous ability to fill whatever road engineers provide.
The bridge links New Castle, Delaware, with Deepwater, New Jersey. Its memorial name honors military service members from Delaware and New Jersey who died in war. The low sun sat behind the towers as we climbed over the Delaware River, turning cables, trucks, and windshield glare into one large exercise in contrast.
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| Northbound after the Delaware River crossing, with New Jersey supplying the lanes in bulk. |
New Jersey Turnpike and Breakfast on Oak Tree Road
The Delaware Memorial Bridge put us onto the New Jersey Turnpike system. The Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway are separate highways. New Jersey has enough traffic to support two famous toll roads and enough confidence to give each its own identity.
We followed the Turnpike north through the state's industrial and suburban spine, sharing the road with commuters, tractor-trailers, and people whose lane changes suggested recent spiritual guidance. The highway opened in 1951 as New Jersey's first modern toll road and the third in the nation. Its practical purpose was obvious from Shehzadi's windshield: move a large volume of traffic through a dense corridor and ask everyone to keep going.
We left the main road for breakfast on Oak Tree Road in Iselin. Rutgers has described the area as a cultural and commercial destination for New Jersey's South Asian American population, with Indian restaurants, clothing shops, and grocery stores set within a postwar suburban district.
That mix explains why Oak Tree Road feels different from a purpose-built tourist quarter. It grew inside an ordinary residential and retail corridor, then became a regional destination through immigrant business, community ties, and repeated demand for useful things such as breakfast. We stopped, ate, and returned to the road. The stomach had approved the route amendment without requiring a public hearing.
Palisades Interstate Parkway and the Hudson River Crossing
From northern New Jersey, we reached the Palisades Interstate Parkway along the west side of the Hudson River. The 42-mile parkway runs from Fort Lee to Bear Mountain and was planned as a scenic road within the protected Palisades corridor. The interstate park effort began in 1900 after quarrying threatened the river cliffs. Saving a geological wall by building a road beside it sounds contradictory, but the road came with a large protected park rather than several million tons of missing rock.
We left the parkway for I-287 and turned east across the Hudson River. The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge replaced the old Tappan Zee Bridge, but “Tappan Zee” remains the name many drivers use because regional vocabulary changes more slowly than concrete. The three-mile, twin-span cable-stayed bridge connects Rockland and Westchester counties and fully opened to traffic in 2018.
The crossing sits over one of the Hudson's widest points. That broad water gap made the bridge feel like a proper dividing line between the long New Jersey leg and the final approach through Westchester County. Shehzadi crossed without comment. Pickup trucks are rarely moved by symbolism, especially while cruise control is engaged.
Watch: Germantown, Maryland to Hamden, Connecticut Drive up I-95 - Rear Camera (Youtube)
Connecticut to Hamden
East of the Hudson, I-287 carried us across Westchester County to I-95. We then crossed into Connecticut and followed the highway through Fairfield County toward New Haven. The state line arrived with signs rather than a cinematic change of weather, architecture, or regional soundtrack. Borders inside the United States often trust drivers to manage the emotional transition themselves.
We left the coastal interstate and headed inland to Hamden, directly north of New Haven. Hamden is associated with Sleeping Giant State Park, where about two miles of traprock form the profile that gave the ridge its English name. We were arriving in town rather than hiking the ridge that day, so the Giant remained asleep and avoided appearing in our mileage log.
The drive ended after five states and several major crossings, with the Baltimore tunnel, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Oak Tree Road, and the Hudson behind us. It was a straightforward East Coast road day in Shehzadi. Straightforward, in this case, meant a tunnel, three broad rivers, multiple toll systems, and a stop in Little India. The Northeast prefers to keep simple things well supplied.
This standalone run was smaller than the long expeditions that followed, but it placed Shehzadi back on a multistate road and reminded us how quickly the route can change character along the East Coast. A few months later, we pointed her west for a much larger assignment.
Next Stop — The Pan-American Drive Begins
Our next road post starts the first stage of our Pan-American overland drive: Hyattsville, Maryland, to St. Louis, Missouri. The February run ended in Connecticut. The June run kept going, which is how road trips become series and fuel receipts become literature.
