I80 route to Middlebury area

[shadoow]

I'm trying to map a route to Middlebury. I'll be coming north on I57 out of Champaign, Illinois. Was originally gonna head east on Hwy 24 at Gilman, Illinois, then take Hwy 31 north, but due to some feedback on another thread I had posted I want to also explore taking I57 further north (i.e. stay on the interstate).

My questions:

How is the interstate drive I would have if I stayed on I57 and connected with I80 in the Chicago area and then go eastward past Gary, South Bend, etc.? Wondering about congestion, lane width, construction, signage, etc.

Would it be better, at least as far as congestion, if I went over to I65 and took it north instead to pick up I80 in the Gary, In. area??

[shadoow]

Snowman9000 wrote:
If you are doing it this week, definitely take the approach from the south, not across NW Indiana! Bad lake effect snowstorms, which are very local to the area west of where you are headed.

Nope, not going this week or anytime soon; mid-may is when we'll go. I've lived in those climates and don't care to experience the 'winter wonderland' any longer. I feel for the folks that have to deal with the extreme winter weather some are getting.

[Snowman9000]

If you are doing it this week, definitely take the approach from the south, not across NW Indiana! Bad lake effect snowstorms, which are very local to the area west of where you are headed.

[shadoow]

Just wanted to thank all that provided comments on this thread. The info is just what I was looking for to help me figure it all out.

[shadoow]

jeb5 wrote:
Yes, I have driven the new route about 6 times. You really need to watch the sign carefully. Not a big enough issue to change your routes. The GPS information was not up to the new roads in Nov. Watch the signs carefully and take U.S. 24. Great truck stop food in Gilman. North of the Super 8 motel.

thanks for the info Jeb. My GPS map shows the new route so that parts good. Just don't wanna get any more confused than what i normally am when driving in unfamiliar territory, especially when signage & GPS don't agree (or seem not to).

[jeb5]

More confusing East to West than it is West to East. Since you are coming from the West, you will understand the route when you return.

[jeb5]

Yes, I have driven the new route about 6 times. You really need to watch the sign carefully. Not a big enough issue to change your routes. The GPS information was not up to the new roads in Nov. Watch the signs carefully and take U.S. 24. Great truck stop food in Gilman. North of the Super 8 motel.

[shadoow]

jeb5 wrote:
I know 24 fairly well. This is your best route. Valpo is a mess on Rt. 30. If you insist on another route, go North on I 57 in Gilman. West on I 80, South on 49 to 30 or East on I 80 and drop down to Nappanee.
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jeb, the 24 route was what i was originally planning on using. In another post i had asked about the 24 route. Part of the info I got was that the new bypass at Logansport may have some confusing signage that could lead to taking the wrong road, some of which are dead ends. Are you familiar with that new bypass?

[jeb5]

I know 24 fairly well. This is your best route. Valpo is a mess on Rt. 30. If you insist on another route, go North on I 57 in Gilman. West on I 80, South on 49 to 30 or East on I 80 and drop down to Nappanee.

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[DouglasC]

As far as avoiding I-80 south of Chicago, we travel from Champaign to west Michigan (Grand Haven) frequently and we get off I-57 at Kankakee (exit 312) and head east and north on IL 17 which eventually turns into IN 2 at the state line. We take IN 2 all the way thru Valparaiso to US 421 at Westville and then north to I-94 (there is an interchange to I-80 off 421 also). We also "cut the corner" on IL 17 at Momence by taking IL 14 to IL 17 and avoiding going up thru Grant Park.

Overall, this route saves about 10 miles vs going I-57 to I-80. It's definitely not faster (unless you get involved in a traffic jam on I-80) but does avoid the worst of the Chicago traffic. We drive it with our car and motorhome but our kids say that it's too much bother and just prefer the I-57 to I-80 route. (The I-57 to I-80 route does include a $1.10 toll on I-80 as well so we avoid that by taking the IL 17/IN 2 route.)

[dapperdan]

doxiemom11 wrote:
We would take the route across 24 to 31 as you originally outlined. We have traveled that route with our motorhome and it was a comfortable drive. We aren't in a hurry and do not mind the little towns. Most have places you can easily pull over for a break. We did the I-94 route from IL into MI last summer and will not do it again -- very congested with everyone flying at 70-80 mph, lots of construction and semis.

We went through that way 4 or 5 times over the course of last spring/summer/fall. Timing is EVERYTHING. The toughest part is from the !294/I80/I94 junction east to Lake Station IN (exit 16), after that it's petty easy going, there is/was some construction east of Lake Station but not bad. Once off of I94 (exit 40) onto HWY 20 it a real relaxing ride all the way through South Bend to Middlebury.

Dan

[jrs1871]

We did the 24 to 31 route last August although is reverse as we were leaving the FROG rally in Goshen. It was not a bad route although there are several small towns that you have to go through. We will probably use that route again this year if we go to the FROG rally.

[doxiemom11]

We would take the route across 24 to 31 as you originally outlined. We have traveled that route with our motorhome and it was a comfortable drive. We aren't in a hurry and do not mind the little towns. Most have places you can easily pull over for a break. We did the I-94 route from IL into MI last summer and will not do it again -- very congested with everyone flying at 70-80 mph, lots of construction and semis.

[dapperdan]

I would come up I57 to I80 but I'd watch the time of day. Ideally you'd want to be heading east on I80 no earlier than 9:00 AM and no later than 3:30 PM. That is if you want to travel on interstates.

I would run I80 till you run into I94, I would jump on I94 east to HWY 20 (exit 40) near Michigan City and then east on 20 all the way to Middlebury. You would avoid tolls that way. As stated before there is construction on 20 near Elkhart but it's minimal. We went through there last fall in September.

Dan

[tatest]

I've done this one too.

Going east on something to catch I-65, then backtracking west to catch I-80/94 eastbound, does not help that much with the congestion problem. The most congested section going east is often the short segment between the I-65 junction with 80/94 and the split where I-94 separates to go north and I-80 joins the I-90 toll road. The backup getting on to the toll road at that junction is what causes the eastbound congestion, as people try to shuffle from the high speed lanes across to the exit lanes going to the toll plaza.

If I want to go east on the toll road, I'll usually go up US-421.

You could go up I-65 to US-30, then across to Valparaiso, and SR-49 up to the toll road. Since I haven't gone through Valparaiso for many years, I can't say what traffic is like now.

I don't often use the 80/90 toll road, and when I do, it is usually to get from Middlebury to I-69, rather than to get into Middlebury from the west. That's something I would do only if I knew US-20 was not available and it would be the wrong time of day to try to get through Goshen.