Miami Traffic

We have taken 2 cruises out of Miami so far, but they have left on a Saturday and Sunday. Traffic has been nothing worse than going through Orlando on I-4.

So, our next cruise out of Miami leaves on a Wednesday. So, we will be dealing with rush hour/business day traffic. We usually stay around Plantation or Ft. Lauderdale and will drive south to the port of Miami. How bad can we expect the traffic to be on a Wednesday morning? Is there a time of day where the morning rush hour traffic lets up?

We aren't people who have to be at the port early as we hate sitting around waiting to get on a ship. If we arrive by 12:30 or 1:00 at the port that would be fine. We do, however, like to drop off our luggage at the port, then drive over to Miami Beach for some breakfast.

If you leave after 9:30 or 10 the traffic will be moderate. It might more sense to get breakfast in Plantation (Original Pancake House is on Broward Blvd), as most restaurants stop serving breakfast earlier during the week.

We have taken 2 cruises out of Miami so far, but they have left on a Saturday and Sunday. Traffic has been nothing worse than going through Orlando on I-4.

 

So, our next cruise out of Miami leaves on a Wednesday. So, we will be dealing with rush hour/business day traffic. We usually stay around Plantation or Ft. Lauderdale and will drive south to the port of Miami. How bad can we expect the traffic to be on a Wednesday morning? Is there a time of day where the morning rush hour traffic lets up?

 

We aren't people who have to be at the port early as we hate sitting around waiting to get on a ship. If we arrive by 12:30 or 1:00 at the port that would be fine. We do, however, like to drop off our luggage at the port, then drive over to Miami Beach for some breakfast.

Greetings

The carpool lanes in Florida only require 2 people in the vehicle. So if you do decide to drive down to Miami early for breakfast on the beach you can take advantage of the car pool lanes. They usually move pretty good even during the high traffic times.

Good Sailing

Tom

Greetings

 

The carpool lanes in Florida only require 2 people in the vehicle. So if you do decide to drive down to Miami early for breakfast on the beach you can take advantage of the car pool lanes. They usually move pretty good even during the high traffic times.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

I drive I-95 every weekday from Fort Lauderdale to Downtown Miami. The car pool lanes turn into the SunPass express lanes (toll) at Golden Glades, so if the OP does not have a SunPass, then he/she has to drive the regular lanes during rush hour traffic, and it can be gridlock. Sometimes even the express lanes are congested if there is an accident or disabled car. I think OP would be better off driving to POM late morning.

I drive I-95 every weekday from Fort Lauderdale to Downtown Miami. The car pool lanes turn into the SunPass express lanes (toll) at Golden Glades, so if the OP does not have a SunPass, then he/she has to drive the regular lanes during rush hour traffic, and it can be gridlock. Sometimes even the express lanes are congested if there is an accident or disabled car. I think OP would be better off driving to POM late morning.

If I leave my Ft.Lauderale hotel on a Friday morning, how long will it take to get to POM if I leave at 8 am.

If I leave my Ft.Lauderale hotel on a Friday morning, how long will it take to get to POM if I leave at 8 am.

If schools are in session, allow for a minimum of 1 hour with no accidents or other delays. This summer has been a dream to commute as it has been about 45-50 minutes.

In all seriousness, there should be absolutely ZERO panic in reaching the port of Miami from Fort Lauderdale during a weekday. It's not like you are trying to make it to work at 9 a.m. If you leave your Plantation hotel at 11 a.m checkout, you'll be parked at the port in Miami before noon.

I have driven into downtown Miami on I-95 and I will never do that again.

If I am going to the port, I would use US 1. I know it might take longer, but the wild driving, multiple lane changes by an individual vehicle without signaling at high speed that I experienced on I-95, well do you get the picture?

I have driven into downtown Miami on I-95 and I will never do that again.

 

If I am going to the port, I would use US 1. I know it might take longer, but the wild driving, multiple lane changes by an individual vehicle without signaling at high speed that I experienced on I-95, well do you get the picture?

Express Lane is your friend, especially in off peak traffic times. No worries of exiters or enterers onto the highway, just ride it to the end and there is your exit.

I would not attempt I95 before 10AM on a weekday heading South.

Keep in mind you MUST have a Sunpass to get into the Express/Carpool lane. The fines are stiff for not having a Sunpass.

Would I go at 8am? HELL NO.

It's not just heavy traffic, it is fighting for every inch of the interstate traffic.

I drive I-95 every weekday from Fort Lauderdale to Downtown Miami. The car pool lanes turn into the SunPass express lanes (toll) at Golden Glades, so if the OP does not have a SunPass, then he/she has to drive the regular lanes during rush hour traffic, and it can be gridlock. Sometimes even the express lanes are congested if there is an accident or disabled car. I think OP would be better off driving to POM late morning.

The hubs does this also and I don't know how you do it every day. My hat is off to you!

I would not attempt I95 before 10AM on a weekday heading South.

 

Keep in mind you MUST have a Sunpass to get into the Express/Carpool lane. The fines are stiff for not having a Sunpass.

 

Would I go at 8am? HELL NO.

 

It's not just heavy traffic, it is fighting for every inch of the interstate traffic.

I believe Florida officially does Toll-By-Plate now, so there aren't any fines for accessing toll lanes w/o being an authorized Sunpass user. They send a Violation notice to you asking to pay the toll and add an Administrative charge to compensate for the paper/postage. I think it's like $2.95 or something like that.

Still, it's better to have the Sunpass, as it gives you a discount and there are no surprises.

We do have a SunPass on our car that we have used during 3 trips to Miami and then up to Orlando. We did use it to go through alligator alley over to Ft. Myers also. Any idea how much it costs to drove from Ft. Lauderdale via the express lanes? Just want to make sure we have enough money in our SunPass account.

We do have a SunPass on our car that we have used during 3 trips to Miami and then up to Orlando. We did use it to go through alligator alley over to Ft. Myers also. Any idea how much it costs to drove from Ft. Lauderdale via the express lanes? Just want to make sure we have enough money in our SunPass account.

The toll will probably be $1.00, but it is subjective based on the traffic conditions. I've seen it up to $7.00 on a rainy day in the middle of rush hour and I've seen it $.25 late night with little traffic.

If coming from Plantation, the trip becomes real smooth if you take I-595 to the Turnpike and then the Turnpike will give you a direct route to the I-95 Express Lanes when you reach the Golden Glades Interchange. Just keep your eyes on the signs when approaching these interchanges and you'll be good.

I believe Florida officially does Toll-By-Plate now, so there aren't any fines for accessing toll lanes w/o being an authorized Sunpass user. They send a Violation notice to you asking to pay the toll and add an Administrative charge to compensate for the paper/postage. I think it's like $2.95 or something like that.

 

Still, it's better to have the Sunpass, as it gives you a discount and there are no surprises.

Florida does have the toll-by-plate for the turnpike but for the express lanes in Miami-dade you have to have a sunpass or there is a fine. My friend just learned that the hard way!

Florida does have the toll-by-plate for the turnpike but for the express lanes in Miami-dade you have to have a sunpass or there is a fine. My friend just learned that the hard way!

Thats weird . . . the Toll - by - Plate is designed for unintentional toll road access and this is valid in all areas including the Express Lanes in Miami. It's possible your friend got a notice and overlooked it and eventually due to nonpayment it turned into a fine but all toll roads are monitored by Sunpass and violation notices are sent to the address of the License plate. It is also possible that the License plate was registered to another address, the violations got sent there and your friend never got them and things escalated.

Either way, the safest way, especially for a local, is to have a Sunpass and register your plates to that Sunpass. There have been plenty of times where I drove through a Sunpass with my portable in the other car and Sunpass just deducts it from my account via Toll-by-Plate. Only issue I ever had was when my Credit card expired and I forgot to update the information with Sunpass. Was backlogged about $40 but one quick phone call and it was all taken care of.

Interesting discussion. I was aware of the Sunpass issue, but not any possible fines that might go along with not having one.

I will still take U.S. 1 from Fort Lauderdale to Miami for my next visit.

Thats weird . . . the Toll - by - Plate is designed for unintentional toll road access and this is valid in all areas including the Express Lanes in Miami. It's possible your friend got a notice and overlooked it and eventually due to nonpayment it turned into a fine but all toll roads are monitored by Sunpass and violation notices are sent to the address of the License plate. It is also possible that the License plate was registered to another address, the violations got sent there and your friend never got them and things escalated.

 

Either way, the safest way, especially for a local, is to have a Sunpass and register your plates to that Sunpass. There have been plenty of times where I drove through a Sunpass with my portable in the other car and Sunpass just deducts it from my account via Toll-by-Plate. Only issue I ever had was when my Credit card expired and I forgot to update the information with Sunpass. Was backlogged about $40 but one quick phone call and it was all taken care of.

Believe it or not, they doesn't even own a sunpass! Why is beyond me!!! We had looked it up since he got it coming from my place and this is what I found on the Florida turnpike.com page:

Is TOLL-BY-PLATE available on 95 Express in Miami-Dade County?

No. To travel on 95 Express, motorists must have a valid SunPass transponder or be a registered toll exempt customer. Go to http://www.95express.com for more information.

Believe it or not, they doesn't even own a sunpass! Why is beyond me!!! We had looked it up since he got it coming from my place and this is what I found on the Florida turnpike.com page:

 

Is TOLL-BY-PLATE available on 95 Express in Miami-Dade County?

No. To travel on 95 Express, motorists must have a valid SunPass transponder or be a registered toll exempt customer. Go to http://www.95express.com for more information.

Can I use TOLl-BY-PLATE on the Florida Turnpike?

Can I use TOLl-BY-PLATE on the Florida Turnpike?

Yes! They have actually taken down many of the toll plazas which makes it much easier. It's a $2.50 per month surcharge I believe.

I will still take U.S. 1 from Fort Lauderdale to Miami for my next visit.

That will take two hours.

Is the Florida Turnpike faster and better trip, from Ft. Lauderdale to MIA on a friday at 8 am in January?

Believe it or not, they doesn't even own a sunpass! Why is beyond me!!! We had looked it up since he got it coming from my place and this is what I found on the Florida turnpike.com page:

 

Is TOLL-BY-PLATE available on 95 Express in Miami-Dade County?

No. To travel on 95 Express, motorists must have a valid SunPass transponder or be a registered toll exempt customer. Go to http://www.95express.com for more information.

I guess what I am trying to say is, if you go through the 95 Express lanes . . . w/o being a Sunpass account holder, you will get a "Unpaid Toll Violation" which will be in the amount of the toll, plus the administrative charge. You won't automatically get a fine. You get a citation when you ignore the UTV (or don't receive because your tag is registered at another address or something) and it goes on from there. State of Florida doesn't want to just fine you for entering the lane w/o a Sunpass because it could potentially encourage people to be more wreckless when trying to get out of the lane. They rather you stay in the lane and they'll send you a notice telling you to pay the toll.

Either way, I strongly encourage any Florida driver to have a Sunpass. Crazy not to have one. People in rental cars should definitely ask about the Sunpass policy to see how reasonable it is. I wouldn't sweat the administrative charge a rental company charges because combined with the Sunpass discounts it will probably be less than paying cash at the toll booths (plus it's much faster).

Is the Florida Turnpike faster and better trip, from Ft. Lauderdale to MIA on a friday at 8 am in January?

Turnpike is almost always a sure bet to be a faster trip during the week when traveling in rush hour (06:30 a.m. to 09:30 a.m.). Keep in mind the Turnpike ends at the Golden Glades Interchange, so you'll still have a good trip in which you have to take I-95 to get down to the Port of Miami (unless you take regular roads).

Turnpike is almost always a sure bet to be a faster trip during the week when traveling in rush hour (06:30 a.m. to 09:30 a.m.). Keep in mind the Turnpike ends at the Golden Glades Interchange, so you'll still have a good trip in which you have to take I-95 to get down to the Port of Miami (unless you take regular roads).

These days, from south of Palm Beach to Miami, I can no longer tell the difference between being on I-95, 595, or the turnpike. They all run together for me except that the turnpike seems to be the most sane.