Originally Posted by
ijgordon
So I agree on the Hudson, no way to avoid a toll crossing there.
But it seems it's not all that difficult between EWR and DC, per Google Maps. You take Route 1 down to 95 before Trenton; no Delaware crossing toll, no NJ Turnpike toll. Seems pretty easy to avoid the DE Turnpike toll by exiting 95 and rejoining an exit or two further south. No toll for the Susquehanna crossing that I'm aware of (or Google Maps is aware of). And then you can take 695 counter-clockwise around Baltimore to avoid the harbor tunnel tolls. As I mentioned, it only adds about 20 miles (mostly the long way around Baltimore), and what looks like 45-60 minutes of time (in addition to Baltimore, probably mainly the Delaware Tpk detour and taking Route 1 through NJ due to traffic lights).
The only part of the Boston-DC trip where it's practically impossible to avoid a toll without going to absurd lengths is crossing the Hudson on the way from DC to Boston.
For a full trip from Boston to DC, avoiding tolls requires about an extra two hours, since (for no good reason), the East River bridges into Manhattan don't have tolls, so you can cross the Hudson going West to East for free. Going DC to Boston, it requires another four hours, since you have to go all the way up past Albany to find an untolled West to East crossing of the Hudson.
Of course, if NYC tolls were sane, and the East River bridges had tolls, then t