Traffic in St. Louis and Chicago

[CrappyEuph]

Hello -

I'm going to be driving from Denton, TX to Ann Arbor, MI with three other people. We're going to leave tonight at 10pm and drive through the night, so I'm expecting to hit St. Louis during morning rush hour and Chicago's south suburbs during lunch time.

So, if you are familiar with St. Louis, is it a bad idea to drive in on I-44E and get on I-55N during morning rush hour? Is there a highway around the city I should take, or are those just as bad?

Similarly, I hear that the traffic south of Chicago on I-80E is just terrible due to construction - is there a detour that will meet up with I-94?

I know it's a weird question, but thanks in advance!

- Jamie

[Steve Marcus]

Jamie,

The Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94) "on the southside of Chicago" is being completely rebuilt; it's a mess.

The south end of the Tri-State Expressway (I-294) is also under heavy construction, as is I-80/94 (Kingery Expressway) as you approach the Borman Expressway at the Indiana border.

You didn't ask about this, but since you're going to Ann Arbor, there was heavy construction on I-94 in Michigan a few weeks ago.

You can get updates at http://www.traffic.com.

Good luck!

[tofu]

I am guessing that you are students with little or no spare funds.

If I guess wrong and you have some funds to spare, then consider taking I-55 to Bloomington, IL and then I-39 to Beloit, WI. From Beloit take I-43 to Milwaukee, WI.

In Milwaukee take the Lake Express Ferry to Muskegon, MI. From there it is a nice pleasant drive (a few hours) to Ann Arbor.

You can avoid ALL the Chicago, Illinois/Gary, Indiana traffic and enjoy some great time on Lake Michigan. It will, however, cost you some bucks.

Wow - that's a great idea! You wouldn't have gotten that route from MapQuest. Tubenet Rocks!

[MartyNeilan]

If you are driving to Chicago, make sure you have:
A) A full tank of gas.
B) Half a pack of cigarettes.
C) Sunglasses (only if its dark).

[Tom Mason]

You can avoid the St. Louis area if you:

1. Take I-30 to Little Rock, Arkansas.
2. Take I-40 to West Memphis, Arkansas.
3. Hit I-55 to Sikeston, Missouri
4. Take I-57 to Chicago.

Tom Mason

[SRanney]

I'll be driving through St. Louis (from Atlanta) next week in a 16' truck with car trailer. More than likely, I'll be coming through at around 5:30pm or so.

Keeping in mind I'll have a trailer, would it be best to travel I-64 -> I-70 or take a bypass around the city? Is traffic absolutely miserable throughout the whole city?

Thanks -

SR

[Randy Beschorner]

If I guess wrong and you have some funds to spare, then consider taking I-55 to Bloomington, IL and then I-39 to Beloit, WI. From Beloit take I-43 to Milwaukee, WI.

In Milwaukee take the Lake Express Ferry to Muskegon, MI. From there it is a nice pleasant drive (a few hours) to Ann Arbor.

You can avoid ALL the Chicago, Illinois/Gary, Indiana traffic and enjoy some great time on Lake Michigan. It will, however, cost you some bucks.

Just to cover all bases, is the construction headache in Milwaukee at the I-894/94 intersection or the I-894/43 intersection.

I have a niece who is a heavy crane operator on the construction and told me that the mess there makes Dan Ryan construction in Chicago look like a quite drive in the country.