Providence to Waltham commute (Boston, Lexington: lease, living in, moving)

[Olosir]

I currently live in Providence and am about to accept a job offer working in Waltham (Fifth Avenue). I probably won't relocate to the Boston area for at least a few months, but if the commute proves to be horrible, I may reconsider. My hours will be 9-5:30 p.m. I live a mile away from access to 95 N and it's approximately a 45-50 minute ride to the office if there is little traffic. Given my working hours, how bad should I expect traffic to be? Would leaving at 7:30 a.m. be advised to get me to the office a few minutes before 9?

[brightdoglover]

The worst traffic at that hour is coming south on 95/128, from people living in NH (and of course, is bad going north at the end of the day).
I think OP should make a trial run during the week to see how long it takes on an average day (no accidents, no weather stuff).
It could get old, but it's not impossible to do, especially if there's a good reason to live in Providence.

[Cato the Elder]

Have you tried leaving 5th Avenue around 5:30? I'm guessing that it might get hairy trying to get on 128 with all the businesses in that area. I have a friend who works at Genzyme and he takes Lexington Avenue south after work to avoid that area. It could easily tack on 10-20 minutes to your commute if it's as bad as it sounds.

[Olosir]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

The worst traffic at that hour is coming south on 95/128, from people living in NH (and of course, is bad going north at the end of the day).
I think OP should make a trial run during the week to see how long it takes on an average day (no accidents, no weather stuff).
It could get old, but it's not impossible to do, especially if there's a good reason to live in Providence.

That makes me feel a bit better. If I'm going in the opposite direction of the worst traffic, leaving at 7:30 should give me plenty of time. But, agreed, I'll do a trial run and adjust from there.

And I'll probably only stay in Providence through the end of my lease in August. I don't want to do this commute indefinitely, and Boston has a lot more to offer.

[brightdoglover]

Sounds like a plan, best wishes!
There might be some mitigation of traffic in the summer, since a certain percentage of people are on vacation at any given time.

[beth98]

Originally Posted by Olosir

And I'll probably only stay in Providence through the end of my lease in August. I don't want to do this commute indefinitely, and Boston has a lot more to offer.

95N until you hit 95/128 (and 95S after the spilt on the return trip) should be fine. I occasionally run into accident related traffic there but generally traffic is heavy but moving. The stretch that is 95/128 from Dedham to Waltham would be the worst but it's doable until August. I would bet you are probably looking at an hour and 15 minutes most days.

[TAM88]

I have a friend who does East Providence to Burlington 5 days a week. Takes him a solid hour plus (70-90 minutes) in each direction. You will hit traffic on 95 north around Norwood that will let up a bit once you make the turn onto 95 north. Then another crunch once you hit the Pike interchange.