I'm driving from Northern Wisconsin to Florida in a few weeks and was wondering if anyone else had driven this or part of this route recently. Any construction to be aware of etc. My biggest concern is which way to take around (or through) Chicago. It can be quite bottleneck, and I will be pressed for time. I see a few different options.
I 94 to I 80 to I 65
I 94 to I 90 to I 65
or 294 to I 80 to I 65

Probably be traveling through around 9 or 10 PM on a Thursday if that makes a difference.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

svan:

In a no traffic (or snowstorm) situation your choice #2 is the fastest. That route is the Chicago Skyway route. There is a fair possibility that your time frame would include little to no traffic. In a traffic situation your best choice is #3.

Here is what I recommend: tune your radio to AM 780. That is the Chicago area news station and they have great traffic updates "on the 8's". You can get this station well into WI., certainly Racine or Kensoha.

By the way, bring extra toll money. IL has doubled the tolls for cash users.

Thanks, that's exactly the info I needed!

svanbox, if you are going round trip, I would suggest stopping at any Jewel Foods store in Illinois and buying the toll to stick on your windshield/visor- because it would be 1/2 the toll amounts and they will add up. Definitely worth it, if you are coming through twice.

Second route is definitely faster and first is less adviseable, I know because I need to take it to Michigan about 20 times a year. placeu2 is absolutely correct.

On second thought, if you have time, you can order the toll pass online, have it sent to your house, and drive through without messing with change etc. at 1/2 the cost.

JJ is referring to our I-Pass electronic system of paying tolls. With this you get to go through special non stop lanes and pay 1/2 the toll of cash people. However: It costs $50 to get started, $40 of which is toll credits.

You need to register through a website or phone number for it to be active if you buy one at Jewel. If you want one, order it through the ILLinois tollway authority website in advance. At 8-10PM, you won't get it activated immediately.

Unless you drive IL fairly often, it probably isn't worth it.

Svanbox. Normally the I-Pass for the tollway would be worth it but you have to purchase it for $50-$10 deposit and $40 worth of tolls- so it's not worth your money. The Skyway (#2) did have major construction going on and was down to one lane but then there is also construction at the south end of 294 so it's really a crap shoot. Good advise to listen to one of the radio stations-780 or 890 that do regular traffic checks and play it by ear. Hopefully it won't be snowing for you as nw Ind. just gets hammered with lake effect which could make your trip a real bear.

A question that SwanBox is NOT asking (but should) and that the Chicago commuters are not answering (but should): when you hear traffic reports on these stations, do they give the NUMBER of the highways they are describing, or the NAME? Note that SwanBox is describing the number of these interstate roads, and thus (like the first time I heard Chicago traffic
reports) may be completely unfamiliar with the NAMES.

In Philly, for instance, KYW-1060 may well give a traffic report like this: "Inbound on the Skoo-kill, we've got a gaper delay from the Blue Route to the Boulevard." Now look at any map and tell me what that means*. It may well help SwanBox if someone told him/her how to translate what you hear on the radio with what you see on a numbered map.

* For those who actually care, "The Schuykill" (pronounced "Skoo-kill" is the name for I-76, "inbound" means toward Center City (ie, east), a "gaper delay" is people slowing down to look at an accident, the "Blue Route" is I-476 (it's a LONG story), and "The Boulevard" is Highway 1 through town.

See if you can borrow a friend's I-Pass.
You can just hold it up as you go through. It doesn't have to be mounted on the windshield. Not only are tolls doubled without it, but the lines are really long to pay the tolls. With the I-Pass you just cruise through which is a a real time savings. To share an I-Pass you just have to register your license plate on a Pass online.

PaulRabe-thank you. I can never remember the name of the highway I'm on. I am driving through Chicago next weekend so you've reminded me to write them down.

Oh, and I90 through the city to the Skyway is definitely the fastest. And you're not going far enough east to run into the Gary construction which brings traffic down to one lane.

9 or 10pm is a good time to head through Chicago.
I have found that taking I-94 all the way through downtown to I-65 to be a decent route at these times and $1.25 tolls. I-94 to I-90 to I-65 (Skyway) has some construction $4.05 in tolls. I-94 to I-294 to I-94 to I-65 There are several tolls, but traffic seems to flow pretty well. I travel through Chicago about twice a month between Michigan and Wisconsin and purchased an I-Pass. The initiall fee of $50 includes the $40 in tolls and a $10 deposit on the receiver and I never have to wait in line. At 9 or 10pm you shouldn't have any problems. I would suggest options 1 then 3 then 2.

Good point on the names. I actually gave that some consideration. I'll give it a shot:

294 = TriState
I-90 = Northwest Tollway till you get to O'Hare then it becomes the Kennedy or JFK.
I-90/94 in the city where it runs North and South is called the Dan Ryan or Ryan for short.
I-94 = Edens until it joins I-90 and that intersection is called "The Junction"
I-290 from 294 to it's end is the Eisenhower aka "Ike" I-290 West of 294 is known as The Extension.
I-55 is the Stevenson aka "The Stevie"
I-80/94 in Indiana is the Borman
I-90 in IN is the Indiana Tollway.
You may also hear the "Ford" or the "Kingery" those are essentially I-94 on it's very South end.

Whew...that's disgusting! There are more but those are the ones that are most heard on this route.

Just to update my previous post-the Skyway construction is done so that is definately the fastest route. (Your route 2). Good tips on the names. Your route is the Kennedy to the Ryan to the Skyway/Indiana Tollway to I-65.

My reccomendation would be to avoid Chicago altogether. Would it be possible for you to take I-39 to I-74 and completely bypass the metro area? Traffic will probably be better at 9 or 10 pm, but there's no guarantee.

Helo is good.
M

Very helpful Mike....bored?