I80 route to Middlebury area

It's been many years since I've made that trip, but I think you want to avoid the mess coming out of Chicago to 80. Probably best to take 65 north to 80.

DwnSth wrote:
It's been many years since I've made that trip, but I think you want to avoid the mess coming out of Chicago to 80. Probably best to take 65 north to 80.

kinda my thought too & is why i was originally looking at using the Hwy 24/31 route.

I-80 in Indiana is a toll road and as I remember is really busy and congested near the Ill state line. I would travel on US-24 to US-31 to US-20 and take US-20 all the way to Middlebury on Ind SR-13.

shadoow wrote:
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??

On one of our trips across northern Indiana a few years ago, we took I-80EB out of Chicago area, and then took I-94 to exit 40 for US 20/IN 2. Took IN 2 to the US 20 bypass around South Bend/Mishawaka/Elkhart, and continued on US 20 to our destination near Lagrange. Except for the unavoidable congestion in the Chicago area, it was a good drive, not a lot of traffic on IN 2/US 20.

We also did US 24EB more recently, from I-57 through Sheldon IL, Monticello and Logansport IN, with a final destination of Fort Wayne. The stretch from I-57 to Logansport IN was all 2 lane roadway, with little towns every 10 miles or so, and in the spring when we did the trip, lots of farm vehicle traffic. It wasn't a bad trip that way, just that we didn't anticipate so much of the slower traffic encountered that way. May not be an issue if you're travelling it before springtime!

There's construction on US20 between Elkhart and Middlebury - they are expanding it to 4 lanes. But it wasn't slowing traffic much when I drove it in October.

Do you realize there are at least 3 Middlebury's in the USA? Fortunately for comprehension of your question, the other two are in New England.

We go over there often. If I was coming from Chambana, I'd go cross country. Danville-Lafayette-Logansport-Rochester-Warsaw-Goshen-Middlebury.

Another good way would be US 24 to Ind. 15 at Wabash. Those non-interstates are going to feel slower, even though they are probably quicker.

For an interstate type route: I-74 to SR63 north into US41. Go north as far as you want before cutting over to I-65. SR 114 and SR10 are not as "big" as US 24, if you are driving a big rig you might stick to 24 to get to I-65. But 24 causes more of a backhaul on I-65. When you get to I80/94, stay on 94 east. Meaning, when the time comes to exit onto the tollway, don't. Get off at US 20 (Michigan City/Niles exit). Continue straight west onto SR 2, and turn right/south onto US 20/31 on the west side of South Bend. Zip around to the east side of Elkhart, turn east onto US 20 to Middlebury. No tolls on that route. And you'll miss all of the thickest NW Indiana interstate traffic. It is a lot lighter east of I-65.

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.

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

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 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.