Evading Nashville and Indianopolis

I always use the Briley pArkway. piece of cake as noted before.

however it fits into my route exactly also since i go from east on 24 to east on 40. :C

I go thru Nashville all the time with no problems. I just wait and go thru after 9am and before 4 pm

Go through Nashville between 9A-3P and there is rarely a problem. Check TDOT SmartWayfor traffic and construction. Get a map and figure your best route.

If you are coming in I-24, get off on Briley Parkway (SR155) and go north on it until you hit I-65. Again, get a map and familiarize yourself with the exit layouts and options so you are not completely dependent on what a GPS tells you.

We usually avoid all big cities by using a map and finding "red" roads, which are state and federal hwy's, around cities. Longer, yes, much easier and enjoyable. We are retired so time is not all that important to us. It is more important to actually see and do things and keep the blood pressure down.

We often go from TN to MN and bypass Chicago this way. Longer? Yes but driving thru the farmlands of Northern IL and WI is much more enjoyable. There are such roads around Indianapolis.

padre1944 wrote:
Rt. 155 or Briley Parkway takes you around Nashville easily. Most cities have an outerbelt that is usually better than going through town. As another poster said, get a map. I never go through cities if I can help it.

Rt 155/Briley Parkway has very little traffic on the west side of Nashville. The East side by Operland hotel and airport may be a different story.

You can take "red" roads to completely by pass Nashville. Depending on where you are going, It is shorter and saves time. See below.

Construction, accidents, weather or rush hour can slow you down no matter where you are.
I sat on I 80 in the middle of nowhere Wyoming for over a hour because of an accident. I am certainly not going to avoid Wyoming because of it.
Don't go through any major city at rush hour.

I frequently go thru Dallas. And when I do, it is thru the middle and it is between 9 am and 3 pm. And rarely a problem. But an accident or construction can create major problems any time. I usually check google maps on my phone and look to see if my intended roads show up as red or, even worse, dark red. That means a major traffic backup and then I look for alternate routes around it.

I often check the same google maps while traveling any where to make sure there are not traffic problems ahead of us. A couple times I have been able to turn on to a parallel highway to avoid the major holdups.

And similar to above, we spent an hour sitting on an isolated stretch of I-40 at the TX/NM state line with no place to go because the highway was shutdown due to an accident. You just never know.

I absolutely DESPISE I-65 in Indiana and do EVERYTHING I can to avoid it. Going North and South, take US 31, which runs almost parallel to I-65. Most is 4 lane, easy driving without all the pot holes and junk traffic. Be prepared to be a little board though. You'll see several small Indiana "burgs" along the way, maybe some corn fields, a cow or two, maybe a hay wagon along the way.

Near Franklin, Indiana, take Highway 44 (East) and then take Highway 9 (North) at Shelbyville. Stay on Highway 9 around Pendleton. Stay on Highway 9 until you hit I-69.

FYI... I-69 in under MAJOR construction all the way from Fishers, Indiana to Pendleton. It's a total nightmare driving through there. Unfortunately, I work right there and have to deal with it. I take back roads to work and STILL avoid I-69.

FYI, I live near Pendleton, and drive this route several times a year heading South.

Yes.... avoid Indianapolis, and especially I-69 North of Indianapolis all the way to Pendleton.

Edit: The nice thing about following US 31 Northward from Kentucky, is the fact it runs so parallel and close to I-65. You can actually jump on and off I-65 to US31 at several places. But really, driving I-65 is the absolute pits! Take US 31 and ENJOY the cows!

US 31 is no longer cows and small burgs. It is not a 4 lane divided highway and in some areas, busy. Still better than I-65 any day.

We have gone thru Nashville a few times on I-65 both north and south, and at 11am had no problem.

TrailerTraveler1 wrote:
Almost two hours on I-24 through Chattanooga on Monday ... at mid-day no less. Ugh! Made Nashville seem like a cakewalk!

News flash folks:

The Interstate highway system has been seriously under capacity for about the last 20 years and is now approaching crisis stage.

It also seems to me that "emergency responders" put traffic flow at a priority near to ZERO.....even after all of the injured have been taken care of. I passed a minor 2 care accident today. Both cars and two tow type trucks were off on the shoulder and traffic was backed up about 3 miles. Note: this was NOT near a major city.

LUCK might be the biggest factor in whether or not you have a major problem.