Trying to avoid Memphis

A hitch and hop wrote:
You didn't mention if you were on a restricted time line or not. If I were doing the trip, I would follow this route.
1. North on 49 to Jackson, MS
2. I-20 to US-65
3. US-65 to Little Rock ( Visit Clinton Museum)
4. I-40 to Muskogee Turnpike
5. Circle around the east side of Tulsa to US 75 north to Bartlesville. ( stop and see Woolaroc Museum south of Bartlesville)
6. Go north out of Bartlesville to Kansas and then follow Hwy 99 to US 54
7. Follow US54 to El Dorado and turn north on US 77.
8. Follow 77 through the Tall Grass reserve to US 56.
9. Stay on US 56 to Great Bend, Kansa where you then follow 281 to I-70.
10 Go west on I-70 to Hays, Ks where you follow US 183 north to I-80 where you go West to Ogallala where you would follow US-20 (the Oregon Trail) to Wy.

We made this trip returning from Yellowstone last year and took our time and visited all the forts and sites along the way. It is 1,803 miles this way.

Very close to my preferred route from Biloxi, except I like to go on up 49 to cross at Greenville because I-20 Jackson to Vicksburg has been in rough shape and the section of US-65 from I-20 to Lake City is slow travelling and almost zero services.

From Bartlesville to El Dorado I like US-166 from US-75 to US-77, it is better road than K-99 and about as empty of traffic as a Kansas road can get. But sometimes I'll go up K-15 from 166 to meet US-77 at Winfield, so I can stop at the candy factory in Dexter.

Beyond Augusta, I have no preferences, my trip is usually to Wichita.

The problem with taking US 87 is the long gradual pull up to Raton, and then Raton Pass itself. The pass isn't legendary but why do any grade work when using US 287 there is none.

I-10 to LaFayette I-49 to Shreveport I-20....

to and past Dallas(this is well south of Dallas) to I-35w/US287...

US287 to Limon Co. and I-70...

OK, here is my variation on this route. It is the way I would go:

I would turn off I-20 onto US 69 near Tyler. There is a Cracker Barrel at this intersection. Also nearby is Tyler State Park for a great overnight stop.

US 69 all the way to Sherman, Texas where I would take US 82 west to US 287 at Henrietta, Texas (near Wichtia Falls). At Dumas, Texas I would take US 87 west to Raton, NM, where I would join I-25 N to Denver.

Raton Pass is a good introduction to driving mountain passes in Colorado. I consider it an easy pass. There is a very nice RV park at the summit: Cedar Rail RV Park.

I note on more careful reading that BB-TX has already mentioned some of the same route I suggest:

From Biloxi I-10 to I-49 using I-12 to bypass New Orleans. I-49 up to I-20, then west on I-20 to US 69 at Lindale/Tyler, TX. North on US 69 to US 82, then west to I-35 at Gainsville, TX. US 69 and 82 are good highways, mostly rural, with a few small towns, but you can make pretty good time.

I would still prefer the Wichita Falls-Amarillo-Raton route myself to the Oklahoma route noted by BB-TX, but that is just my personal choice.

While all valiant efforts, the simplest, shortest and best route would be:

I-10 to LaFayette I-49 to Shreveport I-20....

to and past Dallas(this is well south of Dallas) to I-35w/US287...

US287 to Limon Co. and I-70...

this to Denver...at this point you have a choice of going to I-25 or taking the I-470 bypass,which is a toll road,...I would opt for taking I-70 to I-25. No real difference in miles and saves those wallet emptying tolls...and from there I-25 to Wy.

Now is not a good time to travel thru Memphis/West Memphis on the interstate.

1. New major construction project east edge of Memphis where I-40 meets the I-240 loop (around I-40 mm 9-10). Project involves 2 bridge replacements and construction of 2 levels of fly-over. Project will take 2-3 years or more. Sam Cooper Blvd, which I-40 westbound becomes at I-240 is single lane both east and west. Particularly avoid westbound rush hour travel in the am and eastbound in the pm - traffic was backing up for 5 miles or more before the reduction from 3 lanes.

2. Major interstate pavement reconstruction in West Memphis (Arkansas)in the section where I-55 and I-40 is shared. About 3 feet of pavement is currently being removed and rebuilt including bridges on much of this 3-4 mile section and is reduced to single lane traffic in both directions(I-40 mm 277-280). Unknown completion date.

You didn't mention if you were on a restricted time line or not. If I were doing the trip, I would follow this route.
1. North on 49 to Jackson, MS
2. I-20 to US-65
3. US-65 to Little Rock ( Visit Clinton Museum)
4. I-40 to Muskogee Turnpike
5. Circle around the east side of Tulsa to US 75 north to Bartlesville. ( stop and see Woolaroc Museum south of Bartlesville)
6. Go north out of Bartlesville to Kansas and then follow Hwy 99 to US 54
7. Follow US54 to El Dorado and turn north on US 77.
8. Follow 77 through the Tall Grass reserve to US 56.
9. Stay on US 56 to Great Bend, Kansa where you then follow 281 to I-70.
10 Go west on I-70 to Hays, Ks where you follow US 183 north to I-80 where you go West to Ogallala where you would follow US-20 (the Oregon Trail) to Wy.

We made this trip returning from Yellowstone last year and took our time and visited all the forts and sites along the way. It is 1,803 miles this way.

I like www.mapquest.com because it's easier to drag the route to a new road and change your route. Also easier to add stops than google maps. I use google maps for zooming in and the satellite and street view options.

Interstates were designed to get you across country as fast as possible, but also to connect the major cities. But US designated highways, while usually very good highways, also typically go thru the middle of every town in route with the slow speed limits and traffic lights. So it takes planning to avoid the cities while maximizing the interstates for speed. There are endless possibilities for getting from Biloxi to Dubois. So here is mine.

From Biloxi I-10 to I-49 using I-12 to bypass New Orleans. I-49 up to I-20, then west on I-20 to US 69 at Lindale/Tyler, TX. North on US 69 to US 82, then west to I-35 at Gainsville, TX. US 69 and 82 are good highways, mostly rural, with a few small towns, but you can make pretty good time.
Then I-35 north to Wichita, KS (short stretch of toll road in KS). You will go thru OKC, but not bad if not during rush hour. At Wichita hit I-135 north to Salina, KS and continue on US 81 to I-80.
I-80 west thru Cheyenne, WY to US 287 and north to Dubois.
This route maximizes the use of interstates and still misses all major cities except OKC. Not bad for that long of a route.

But sometimes you can spend a lot of extra travel time trying to miss just a few miles of traffic when you would be better off just to tough it out for that short stretch.

Gale Hawkins wrote:
This is one option to miss Memphis if you feel that strong about it.

When we went to WY in 2011 we took the mainly the non interstate option and that worked out fine. In the midwest all roads flow fast we found.

With the exception of going through Tulsa, this is not a bad route, but it is boooooooring! Last time I was through there, the construction in Tulsa was a nightmare, got into a loop that I couldn't get out of and ended up on surface streets to get to the Cimmaron Turnpike. And in Denver, unless you continue on I70 right in to the Mousetrap at I-25 or I-270, which is a mess most of the time, the only real alternative would be E-470 and the tolls aren't cheap for cars; even higher for RVs and trailers.

leaddog wrote:
Skip Springield, MO. Travel via Shreveport, Dallas, Amarillo, Denver, Dubois.

Agree with you re I-55 traffic around Memphis. Merge lanes don't exist in many places and the people there don't know what "Yield right of way" means.

Or, drive through Meridian up to Jackson, TN and take US412 up to Dyersburg, catch I-155 to Hayti, MO and I-55 north to exit 1 in Missouri take US 60 west.

Good luck.

+1, regarding going up to Jackson TN then on to Dyersburg. Easy drive, a LOT less headaches than going through Memphis.

Also, you can skirt around St Louis and grab I70 west to KC, then grab I29 north to Iowa. You could take US2 over to Lincoln NE and grab I-80 to cross NE and go into Wyoming. I've done most of that in reverse and it's not a bad drive.