We are at Decatur, AL, just west of Huntsville. Normal path would be 72 up to South Pittsburg, TN, then I-24 thru chatta to I-75 to Cleveland and then 74 thru Ocoee. Last 2 times we have gone, I-24 eastbound has literally been backed up from Mocassin Bend all the way to South Pittsburg.
If we could get to Dalton Ga easily, then as you say it's easy to get from there to Cleveland. However, between Chattanooga and Atlanta all the roads go basically north/south. Really no major east/west roads between those 2 towns.
And if we go around Chattanooga on the north side, the limiting factor is routing to one of the few bridges to cross the TN river.
