How Long will this take me?
Jul 10th, 2005, 12:42 PM
#1
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How Long will this take me?
A couple of years ago I had a flight out of o'hare at 7:10 in the AM. I was coming from Madison Wi and thought I gave myself plenty of time, but we got stuck in traffic for miles ouside of the airport and I almost missed my flight. That was a week-day flight, on a Thursday morning, I believe.This July I will be flying out on a Saturday morning. I am driving in on I-90 from Madison. Isthe traffic on saturday incoming to the airport as bad as during the week? Anyone have any idea how much of a delay if any there may be? My flight leaves at 7:00.
Jul 10th, 2005, 01:16 PM
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I used to live in Ohio, and we were always taking driving trips out west...and, we'd have to drive through Chicago. I tried to schedule going through Chicago at times when the traffic wouldn't be bad, I NEVER found such a time. We went through (for the last time, since I am out of Ohio now!) on a Sunday afternoon in May this year and sat in horrendous, hours-long traffic jams, barely moving, signs above us flashing '1 hour to airport!' when we were maybe 5 miles away! I've tried early morning, mid-day, weekends, weekdays. Maybe a Chicago native can help you, but my limited experience is, their traffic sucks ALL the time & plan accordingly!
Jul 10th, 2005, 05:38 PM
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If you have a morning flight, you really need to spend the night before at a hotel near the airport. I live in Chicago, and it's not unusual to crawl through a bumper to bumper traffic jam at midnight. There is no good time to drive down. Even if traffic was decent, you would still need to be at the airport by around 5 am, which would mean leaving home around 3 am. An added bonus of spending the night at the airport is many will let you leave your car there and give you a ride to the terminal in their shuttle. So, it won't really be any more expensive than paying for parking. I would reccomend leaving Madison no earlier than 6 pm on Friday. You'll be hitting town around eight, and the worst of traffic should be over, though it'll still be heavy.
Jul 11th, 2005, 04:54 AM
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I live near O'Hare and travel back and forth on that route often. Just did it this weekend in fact.
7AM during the week is much different than a Saturday. You should not experience any delays at all. However you do not say if your flight is 7AM..or PM. Even at that give yourself 2 hours for the drive and you should be fine.
7AM during the week is much different than a Saturday. You should not experience any delays at all. However you do not say if your flight is 7AM..or PM. Even at that give yourself 2 hours for the drive and you should be fine.
Jul 11th, 2005, 07:10 AM
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I would stay near the airport the night before. I go from Madison to South Bend through Chicago(I90) at least once a month. Early Saturday am is generally good but this summer's traffic is terrible going south. It gets backed up at the Beloit exchange. You can't count on no tie-ups.
Be sure and buy or borrow an IPass if you don't have one. It'll definitely save time.
Be sure and buy or borrow an IPass if you don't have one. It'll definitely save time.
