From O'hare, headed east on I-80 into Indiana, how to avoid traffic?
We will be driving from O'hare airport (Chicago ORD) down into Indiana and headed east on I-80 later this week (weekday morning). I'm familiar with the roads, but not familiar with traffic loads.
Based on current construction and traffic experiences, would it be better to take I-90 close to downtown, or take I-294 and avoid downtown (but hit several busy interstate interchanges with I-80 before the Indiana border)? Toll price differences don't concern me, I just don't want to be stuck in any more gridlock than I have to.
Best Answer
Routes thru Chicago will be better or worse, that being relative. However since your criterion is stress-free, without any particular emphasis on speed or cost:
Do what the railroads did to avoid Chicago congestion: cross on a carferry. Go northeast to Milwaukee and cross the lake on the Lake Express catamaran carferry to Muskegon, Michigan then south. Or for the classic experience, go farther north and take the genuine, original SS Badger from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI, which actually did haul railroad cars.
Take a commuter flight from ORD to South Bend regional airport and overfly the whole mess at 300 knots. Or Elkhart.
Rail through and past the city: Chicago "El" from ORD to downtown, then at Millennium (Randolph) station the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad east to a place with a car rental, either Michigan City, or South Bend Regional airport again lol.
fly into DTW instead of ORD. DTW is the largest international airport in the Great Lakes region (besides ORD) and DTW to the turnpike doesn't involve any significant traffic. In fact you can parallel the turnpike on free I-94 and drop down where convenient.
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How do I avoid traveling in Chicago?
You should definately follow I-39 South at Rockford to at least I-80 East or even further to I-74 at Bloomington, IL and then head East. It depends on where New Philadelphia, OH is located. both of the above will avoid the biggest chunk of Chicago traffic.What route goes around Chicago?
take the 94/294 tollway ("tri-state" tollway) south and then east around the city.... it will link up with 80, then you could continue on your merry way to michigan.... and as mentioned, definitely tune into AM 780/FM 105.9 for constant traffic/weather updates, as you might have to fine tune your route....King Von - Took Her To The O (Official Video)
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Answer 2
If you are driving in the morning, then 294 would be your best bet since you are not joining commuters heading into the city for the first part of your drive.
Answer 3
To provide a followup, we ended up taking I-90. According to Google Maps drive time was about the same either way. Had typical congestion leading into the Jane Byrne interchange, but never stopped moving, and once we got past that point, it was smooth sailing across the Skyway. Quite stress-free compared to some of my times trying to traverse Chicago interstate traffic.
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