I needed one of these when I commuted to the Boston beltway from NH...

[HopeHoops]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110526/ts_yblog_thelookout/mexican-officials-seize-narcotank

Actually, what I REALLY wanted was a set of NERF tires so I could just go up and over everyone else.

[Mopar151]

1. Flown I-93 myself....

Thank the deity of your choice that you don't have to drive The Banzai Pipeline (aka 128 or I-95)! When we met, Mrs. Mopar worked within sight of Malfunction Junction - where The Southeast Distressway (I-93) meets I-95 and Rt. 3. The old truckdrivin song is true - at some points in this maze, you will see a sign that you are on I-93 South and I-95 North - on the same friggin' post!

Actually, my vehicle of choice would be faster (That thing gotta weigh 5 tons!) a lot more nimble - a desert racing truck (aka "Trophy Truck") - 800 hp, big brakes, big rubber, 18" of wheel travel to cushion the potholes and craters, and a SERIOUS rollcage. A good rally car could handle most of this, but the vehicle does have to be big enough to intimidate an airfreight driver or a maniac in an Escalade.

In-truck video from San Felipe 250, Baja, Mexico http://youtu.be/_XZ2K-Jf00E

Dyno pull on the engine: http://youtu.be/AvbprdAm6IE Time-lapse buildup vid - way cool! http://youtu.be/EPhHJQWnHkc

[HopeHoops]

2. That's generally better than Rt. 3. At least there are more lanes and fewer pot holes.

I used to cut from 101A over to Hudson by the back roads and dive onto 93 downstream. It still took fucking forever.

[KamaAina]

5. There is a five-mile-long stretch of freeway in the Bay Area that is both I-80 East and I-580 West

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Amateur.

What "beltway?" Do you mean 128 or 495?

[HopeHoops]

4. Um, both actually. Two different jobs, but I had to get to both - and do some time on each. BUT...

I cut my teeth on the DC beltway, so 128 and 495 in Boston were nothing. GETTING to 128 or 495 was the problem! In DC it is the other way around. There are dozens of routes to get on the beltway, but once you're there you're fucked - especially at the 7 turns by the Disney castle (Mormon temple).

[Mopar151]

6. It's the drivers that make Boston "special"

Not to mention the "bottlneck effect" from NH exit 3 to the border ( i used to work off exit 2), The raod is overstuffed with traffic, so that any disturbance in the flow can turn into stop 'n go.
And some Massholes tap the brake anytime they see a cop anywhere - even in the weigh station behind the office! The ripple effect can go all the way back to exit 4

[HopeHoops]

10. Yeah, the Nashua stretch is horrible.

It's been over ten years since I did that run so I suppose it is far worse now.

[MorningGlow]

7. Oh gods, the 128...

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Mopar151]

11. A lot of that is the road itself

The major portion was widened willy-nilly - some right, some left - so you are crossing big pavement transitions on a diagonal. And the construction work was done badly, so the road base is crumbling - and there is so much traffic, that it is difficult or impossible to maintain.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

8. Looks like it would be handy for going after Casanova Frankenstein, too.

[sarge43]

9. Hell is an eternity of driving I-95. n/t