N. WI to Akron, OH. Chicago?

[richclover]

I-39 south to I-80 or is there a “preferred” route closer to Chicago?

I-80 toll road or US 30, Joliet through Ft. Wayne?

Thanks for any tips!

[richclover]

Thanks, Everyone for all the suggestions! Very much appreciated!

[hornet28]

stew47 wrote:
I’m going from Dover oh (30 min south of Akron) to Kalispell this summer. The plan is us 30 to i75 to I 80 to i355 to I 90. Coming back it’s us2 to i75 to us30

If you want to avoid as much Chicago traffic as possible, Consider I 80 to I-380 to U.S. 218 to U.S. 18 to I-35 then to I-90. it only adds about 20 mi from the route you stated. I just pulled through there a couple of weeks ago and it was a nice road

[stew47]

Hello! Yea our plan going through Chicago is get through about 11 at night and find place to sleep once we hit Wisconsin.

[midnightsadie]

hi neighbor I live in louisville, ,anything is better than going close to the big city.

[stew47]

I’m going from Dover oh (30 min south of Akron) to Kalispell this summer. The plan is us 30 to i75 to I 80 to i355 to I 90. Coming back it’s us2 to i75 to us30

[Mickeyfan0805]

I think a lot of it depends on where in northern WI and what time you are coming through. The I39-24 route adds 100-125 miles to the trip (depending on which part of WI you are coming from). That's 2 extra hours of driving and $30+ additional in gas (for us, the gas cost would be closer to $45). I could deal with some traffic and cover the cost of a lot of tolls for that. Even going down to I80 adds 60 miles as opposed to coming straight in from Rockford (if you are that far west to begin with).

If you absolutely have to come through between 7-10a or 4-7p, then it might be worth the the extra distance to save the frustration, but it's doubtful. Generally, coming from the Milwaukee area, I just make sure to avoid those times, use the tri-state (294), and don't have many difficulties. It would really take a major accident in the midst of rush hour to have delays as extensive as those 2 hours.

Unless you are averse to heavy traffic, I would suggest you do the 39-80 route or just try to time it for midday and come right down 90 to 294 and then around to 80 (the latter would be my option).

[Tyler0215]

X2 on I39 US 24 Time wise you won't be saving any, but a LOT less traffic.
Us 30 is just as bad traffic wise as I80 but more stop lights.

[Bumpyroad]

richclover wrote:
I-39 south to I-80
Thanks for any tips!

no good way to avoid chicago traffic IMHO
bumpy

[DrewE]

There is always the SS Badger ferry, too, from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI (and, of course, vice-versa)...although it's not inexpensive by any stretch of the imagination. From there, something like US31 to I-96 to I-75 to I-90 looks reasonable to me on paper. It's probably not quicker nor less expensive overall than the other alternatives.

[STBRetired]

You might want to consider I-39 to US-24 to Fort Wayne. US-30 has LOTS of traffic and stoplights. While US-24 is longer mileage-wise, it is through mostly rural areas and a few small towns.

[rr2254545]

The tolls will kill you on the northern route I would take the southern route - this also avoids lots of traffic