Avoiding Chicago

[Petedeb]

Hi all,
I am planning a trip to head East from Wisconsin and would really like some ideas on getting around the Chicago area. Iv'e pulled my TT thru there and really am not fan of doing it.
I am located 60 miles north of Milwaukee

[A32Deuce]

I live in Jersey and coming home from St Paul one time, I kept to the west of Chicago then south of it to come east. Took a little longer but the lack of heavy traffic and better roads made it worth it. Just my take on it. I go south of it if going west also!

[chaps2018]

Watching. I will be coming from Mequon going to the Dunes state park in September.

Curious as to why u are avoiding—is it the downtown area? Last I recall it is all multi lane toll roads.

[Kimber45]

no real good way around it without adding hours and hours onto trip. avoid peak times and plan your trip around slower times.

[upflying]

Whenever I travel through Ca, I plan middle of the day transits through congested areas.
11am to 1pm is the only time to drive through or around urban areas..

[Skip12]

You could look into a Lake Michigan Ferry. Be sure to check height and length restrictions.

Otherwise, I agree with Kimber. The trick is to avoid rush hour. For example, we came home on the Saturday after the 4th of July rather than the Sunday. On our next trip, we left at 11 am on Saturday rather than Friday afternoon. Both trips had lots of traffic, but we kept moving. Have friends that chose the alternatives and described nightmare trips.

If you want to avoid Chicago you could go 43 to 39 to 88 (or even 80) but those are all heavily traveled roads too.

Even if you went way around - Dubuque to Davenport to Peoria to Champaign you'd add a ton of miles and would still have heavy rush hour traffic.

...in my opinion.

[rockfordroo]

As Kimber45 said, you're going to have to go "out of your way" to avoid Chicago. I'd take I-43 to Beloit and pick up I-39. Then two options:

1. If you want to stay in the northern part of Indiana/Ohio, take I-39 to I-88 east to Downers Grove, then south on I-355 to I-80/90, then east on I-80/90. The worst part of this is the I-80/90 segment until you get to Indiana. Also, you want to avoid the Downers Grove area during rush hour; I'd say after 10am would be OK.

2. If you want to go further south in Indiana/Ohio or even down into KY and TN, take I-39 down to Bloomington, IL, then I-74 to Indianapolis.

[richp]

Hi,

Other than taking a time consuming and very distant routing to the west and south, the only way (and time) to minimize the impact of the 80/90/94 mess south of the lake is to go very late at night or very early in the morning.

FWIW from a long time resident of the region.

Rich Phillips

[gastan]

There is really no way of avoiding heavy traffic anywhere around Chicago without going waaaay out of your way - the whole metro area is just too darn big.

If you really want to avoid downtown Chicago then I would head down to Beloit and hop onto I-90 south to Rockford; transition to I-39 south to LaSalle; merge onto I-80 east. This takes you 80 miles or so west of the city and the traffic is much lighter - but you will still have to go thru the south metro area - Calumet City, Hammond, Gary, etc. - and traffic there is a b***h.

That route will double your mileage but is, IMO, the shortest but quickest way to avoid most of the heavy traffic. It will add another 90-120 minutes to your trip. Other than that, I would suggest grabbing a state hi-way map and start plotting state routes thru the area, especially around the south side. The farther west and south of the city you stay the easier the traffic will be.

I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago - about 30 miles southwest. Back then (50's & 60's) we could drive into the Loop in 35-40 minutes. The last time I was back we stayed at a park in the DeKalb area (70 or so miles northwest of the city) and it still took us well over 2 hours to make the drive into the city. It has gotten absolutely horrible.

[BandJCarm]

Twice I've gone around the U.P. to avoid Chicago. I avoid Chicago in all aspects of life. 100%.

Course, I'm retired.....if you're not, it's a problem I realize.

[waybeck2018]

Originally Posted by chaps2018

Watching. I will be coming from Mequon going to the Dunes state park in September.

Curious as to why u are avoiding—is it the downtown area? Last I recall it is all multi lane toll roads.

Maybe the toll roads? Maybe the inherent crime? Maybe the terrible roads in Illinois? In June I had to travel through Illinois on the way home from a 3200 mile trip. In Illinois, when that horror story was over, EVERY thing in the bunk room was dislodged and scattered. Worst roads in America that I have seen.

[gastan]

Originally Posted by Skip12

You could look into a Lake Michigan Ferry. Be sure to check height and length restrictions.

As far as I know, there are only two ferry's. Milwaukee to Muskegon. Max trailer length is around 18-20 feet. Max height is around 9 feet. Plus it's pretty darned expensive - like 300 bucks one way.

Manitowac to Ludington takes bigger trailers but I don't remember the size restrictions, if any. Bigger boat but going that way would still add several hundred miles to your trip.

Ferry or long detour around Chicago - - kind of a wash.

[gastan]

Originally Posted by waybeck2018

Maybe the toll roads? Maybe the inherent crime? Maybe the terrible roads in Illinois? In June I had to travel through Illinois on the way home from a 3200 mile trip. In Illinois, when that horror story was over, EVERY thing in the bunk room was dislodged and scattered. Worst roads in America that I have seen.

X2. I recently had to drive from Detroit to Portland, OR. I used the excuse of visiting relatives in Texas to avoid driving on Illinois roads. Only added about 900 miles to the trip.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by waybeck2018

Maybe the toll roads? Maybe the inherent crime? Maybe the terrible roads in Illinois? In June I had to travel through Illinois on the way home from a 3200 mile trip. In Illinois, when that horror story was over, EVERY thing in the bunk room was dislodged and scattered. Worst roads in America that I have seen.

Our illustrious new governor just raised the gas tax by 20 cents, so the roads will be better next year. Trust me!

(Make sure you fill up in Beloit!)

[pkmkaz]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Our illustrious new governor just raised the gas tax by 20 cents, so the roads will be better next year. Trust me!

(Make sure you fill up in Beloit!)

And after the bonds were paid off the toll roads were supposed to be “free” roads....

(Hate to say but I was born and raised in that cesspool of a city and the best move we made was to here!)

[clr]

I do not know where on the East Coast you may be going, it would make a great deal of difference in my mind. But I would go with rockfordroo's travel suggestions depending upon where on the East Coast you may be going.

[Bugzilla46310]

If you take 94 through Chicago, to Indiana and toward Michigan City between 4:00 to 6:00 pm, you will obtain many memories that will last a lifetime!! Depending on where East you are heading, picking up the Skyway (toll road) cuts off some mileage and is usually good. There has been some construction on the Illinois side. Been a few months since I was on the Skyway. On a bad note, you still need to take the Dan Ryan through Chicago to get there. You also need to be in the local lanes to get on the Skyway, but you need to be in the left lane in the local lane, not the right lane.

[jeff64]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Our illustrious new governor just raised the gas tax by 20 cents, so the roads will be better next year. Trust me!

(Make sure you fill up in Beloit!)

X many!
Ole' JB Prickster will straighten it all out including your bank account

[FOURWHL]

Live(d) in Chicago, store the RV near Lake Geneva so this question comes up pretty much every trip.

When heading West - 43 to 39 South to either 80 or 55 (depending on destination)

When heading East - Leave early and bite the bullet and take 294. I usually roll out by 5am to hit Ohare around 6. Never have an issue this way. Other option is to leave after 7pm. Middle of the day can be OK but it varies by the day and construction. When leaving for a trip I'd usually rather get an early start.

[Gumpster808]

When we came back from Milwaukee last year we used the bypass on the west side of Chicago.

Traffic wasn’t too bad - think it was on Saturday or Sunday that we came through.

Depending on where you are going east I’d skip the Indiana turnpike and take either 30 or 6 across Indiana - roads are much better.