The Port Jefferson - Bridgeport Ferry

One good thing that has resulted from my vigilant guard over the I-95 miles between New Haven and Queens (and beyond) was my discovery of the ferry that escapes the relentless and excruciating traffic that blocks any travel in that corridor on a friday afternoon beginning at 2pm and lasting until nearly 7pm. On a stretch that probably takes less than an hour on a day with light volume, that same 50 miles takes at a minimum, a hefty dose of patience. I found myself angry and exhausted by the time I reached North Haven where most traffic relents and I-91 splits from I-95 and heads north.


I tried using the West Cross/Merritt Parkways (Rt 15) that winds through wooded terrain with quaint stone bridges that span the roadway at intervals and parralels 95, but at times the volume clogs this route so completely traffic actually stops for long enough to open up conversations with fellow commuters. Not that I would actually do that, because although I was temporarily lulled by the pleasant scenery, the anger would be creeping back to life and no doubt any inane comments from a Fairfield County Connecticuter would send me into incessant road rage.



What must have saved my recommute was a simple boat ride. The ferry leaves from a midpoint in Long Island and shoves you off unceremoniously in Bridgeport, CT. It's not the staff, food, or tour of either port city that is worth the steep fare of passage, it's the clear peace of mind one gets without the stop-and-go dash that is the commute leaving from New York City into Connecticut on a friday evening. It's the sunset over New York City and sea air over the Long Island Sound that makes it worth it. I recommend it for anyone who needs to get off of "the island" on a friday night and dreads the Throgs or Whitestone commute.