New England - Fastest/safest route from BOS to Springfield, VT

Next week I'm going to be arriving in Boston around 11:30PM, picking up a rental car and driving to Springfield, VT. Wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what my best route would be? Google maps says the "fastest" would be to take the 89N and then back track south to the 91. There are a couple of alternatives listed that are slightly longer including the 495 to the NH-12 or the 495 to the 91N. On the 89N route I could also cut accross west through sunapee, newport, and claremont.

So, given my options hoping someone with some more experience in the area can chime in and give me an idea of what the best route would be for that time of night. Oh, and how much can I realistically push the speed limit at that hour? hehe.

Thanks!

I agree with Google Maps on this one. So does my Route 66 self-contained map/navigation program.

I generally stay within 10 mph of the limit unless I'm in a real hurry, but I drive a ticket magnet. (Yes, I miss out on a lot of the fun I could have driving it.) You might be able to get away with more in a Prius. Then again, the only speeding ticket I ever got in my life was in Vermont, late at night, for 13 over.

Agree w/Efrem & Google. The last half of the area between Boston and Spfld is extremely hilly, and all of the 2-lane roads in the area will be hilly, twisty, and dark. Only reason to take them is that if you hit a moose or a deer, you'll be going a lot slower than if you were on the interstate.

Speed limit (my opinion/experience): At the hour you talk about, you will not have any speed traps, only roving patrol cars. As for speed limit, in Mass you'll be ok at that hour doing 74 until you reach the 93/95 intersection, then you can kick it up to 79 until you reach NH. Then back to 74 until you get through Manchester, and back to 79 from there on.

Awesome, thanks guys. Looks like I can do that in just over 2 hours then if I can average about 75, which is what i was hoping as I don't want to be out there until 3 or 4 am.

I take the route 11 shortcut on this route, but if you haven't done it before and won't have a GPS, it's simpler to juts do 89 --> 91. It's nice not having to backtrack though. And I think it's about 10-15 mins faster.

Speed limit (my opinion/experience): At the hour you talk about, you will not have any speed traps, only roving patrol cars. As for speed limit, in Mass you'll be ok at that hour doing 74 until you reach the 93/95 intersection, then you can kick it up to 79 until you reach NH. Then back to 74 until you get through Manchester, and back to 79 from there on. That's about right... definitely no more than 80 on I-89 north of Concord, no matter how empty and tempting the road looks; it is patrolled. Knock your speed down by at least 10 mph if it's raining. I always figure it's two hours flat from Logan to West Lebanon, where I-89 meets I-91, and then it's another 20 or 30 minutes south to Springfield.

I concur that it's not worth the risk to hit twisty two-lane blacktop roads you don't know in the absolute dead of night owing to the deer / moose factor.

That's about right... definitely no more than 80 on I-89 north of Concord, no matter how empty and tempting the road looks; it is patrolled. Knock your speed down by at least 10 mph if it's raining. I always figure it's two hours flat from Logan to West Lebanon, where I-89 meets I-91, and then it's another 20 or 30 minutes south to Springfield.

I concur that it's not worth the risk to hit twisty two-lane blacktop roads you don't know in the absolute dead of night owing to the deer / moose factor.
I second all of this. 89's a nice enough ride. Watch the speed. Never got a second look at 75mph, but always see a trooper or three along the N.H. stretch (including 93N)

Thanks again all. Made it safely and reasonably quick at about 2.5 hours or so for the 89N to 91S route. I was slowed down a bit by very heavy fog in a few stretches and the frequent road construction (no stops but slow speed as the road is really narrow through those parts).