Oshkosh Wi to Dayton Ohio

[msmith1199]

Next week, on a weekday, I'm going to be going from Oshkosh to Dayton, Ohio. I've never driven around Chicago before. We're going to spend part of the day at the Airshow and then at some point head out and if possible get all the way to Dayton, and if not get as many miles behind us as we can. Google has is at 481 miles. The google route shows to take 294 around Chicago and then 80 to 65 and then South on 65.

So the first question is that the best way around Chicago? We may be hitting the road in the afternoon so we could be hitting Chicago around commuter hours. How is that route during those hours?

After we get through Chicago looks like the next choke point is Indianapolis. Google's route is 65 and then 70 right through the middle if Indianapolis, but my guess is it's probably better to take 52 (The beltway?) and go over the top of Indianapolis and then pick up 70. Is that the best route?

Any other suggestions to get from Oshkosh to Dayton on any different routes? We're doing this in a car.

[msmith1199]

Took the trip and didn't have any real problems. We left Oshkosh about 3pm last Wednesday and took 294 through the Chicago area. It was slow in some places but not that bad. It was probably 6pm by the time we got there and all went good. There was a fatal motorcycle accident on the ramp to go south on 65 but we just passed the ramp and let the GPS find a route around on surface streets. Went from California to Charleston, South Carolina in 8 days and 3900 miles. Of course that wasn't the direct route and it also included three days in Oshkosh. We skipped the Air Force museum and went to the Indy 500 track instead and then headed south from there to Louisville and then East to South Carolina.

[bid_time]

There is never a good time to drive thru Chicago. People from Chicago have recommended you "Don't Do It". 100 miles out of the way is a deal. Been There, Done That, (1:00 a.m.) never again.

[camperforlife]

Duplicate post due to connection problems.

[camperforlife]

Your biggest concern will be 65 from Chicago to Indy. It is often pure madness driving 85mph to 0 and back to 80 often. This stretch is notorious for major accidents, back ups and yes even deaths so be alert.

In Indy it depends on the time of day what route you want. Rush hour I would go straight down 65 to 70. There can be some pretty good back ups at the 465-69 interchange on the North side during rush hour. Any other time I would take the north route you referred to as 52. You will find it will be labeled as 65 to 865 to 465 East which will turn to 465 South as it starts to go down on the South east side to 70. It is one continuous loop that changes numbers as it loops from east to south.

70 from Indy to Dayton has some construction but most areas have 2 lanes open and back ups are minimal. From mile mark 130 to the Ohio line (mile mark 156) there is night and weekend lane closures that chokes traffic to 1 lane and creates some long back ups. You will find very heavy truck traffic and rough roads from Indy to Dayton.

i hope this helps.

[dodge_guy]

msmith1199 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
Or..........head west out of Oshkosh, hang a left at Seattle. head south to LA, hang another left then head east to Atlanta. take I75 north to Dayton. simple really, you avoid Chicago and Indy and it`s much more sceinic! let me know if you need anymore directions!

You obviously haven't been to Seattle lately. Traffic there is a nightmare.

Great, well that route is out! I got nothing 😉

[msmith1199]

dodge guy wrote:
Or..........head west out of Oshkosh, hang a left at Seattle. head south to LA, hang another left then head east to Atlanta. take I75 north to Dayton. simple really, you avoid Chicago and Indy and it`s much more sceinic! let me know if you need anymore directions!

You obviously haven't been to Seattle lately. Traffic there is a nightmare.

[dodge_guy]

Or..........head west out of Oshkosh, hang a left at Seattle. head south to LA, hang another left then head east to Atlanta. take I75 north to Dayton. simple really, you avoid Chicago and Indy and it`s much more sceinic! let me know if you need anymore directions!

[john_bet]

If I was to do it I would find my way to Madison and I-39 south to I-74 to Indy picking up I-465 round the north side to I-70 east to Dayton. But be aware there is some rough road sections on I-70 east of Indy and there is repairs in progress. To me it is worth it to miss all the big cities. There is a short section of I-39 that is toll at the Wisc. Ill. line and south in Ill. If you want to miss I-70 construction then go a little further south on I-465 and pick up US-40 to Richmond and back on to I-70. Just my idea.

[dodge_guy]

What day?

[msmith1199]

Now you guys have me all confused!! I don't know what time we're going to leave Oshkosh. What I'm thinking about doing is just making it later in the day. We'll be at the airshow so I'm thinking about just not leaving until around 4pm. That should put us into Chicago after 7pm. Would the traffic have died down by then? We're probably not making it all the way to Dayton on that day anyway so I'd like to just get passed Chicago and we'll find a place to stay for the night and then go into Dayton the next day.

[dodge_guy]

msmith1199 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
If you really want to avoid traffic, go back to 90 from Oshkosh and take that to I355 via I294. 355 goes south to I80. much less traffic. and less tolls (maybe)! And less aggravation!!!

Or just stay on I39 (i90) south to I80. It's a bit longer route, but no traffic.

I had checked that on Google but it was 100 miles further. You would have to avoid a lot of traffic to make that worth it.

Being from the Chicago area, believe me it`s worth it! the only time I go through Downtown Chicago is at night. we just got back from Myrtle Beach 2 weeks ago and I came up around 465 around Indy, up I65, then I80 around to I355. I think for me it adds about 20 minutes to the drive, but there is no traffic, so the longer distance makes it a wash! anytime you can bypass Chicago it`s worth it, even if it means an hour out of the way, because you will probably be sitting for an hour in traffic anyway. might as well be moving instead of sitting.

[JesLookin]

I drive from Appleton to Dayton at least once a year. I've tried all the variations of routes. The least painful way is to take 294 through Chicago and the bypass around the north side of Indianapolis.

Hang on to your hat on I65, it is usually 70 to 80 MPH of madness with the occasional slowdowns to 55 for no apparent reasons.

[mdamerell]

There is never a good time to go through Chicago. You have I-94, I-80, I-55, I-57 and I-65 all converge to dip under the lake. Combined that with millions of people commuting to and from work and it's a mess. Picture LA traffic on 4 lanes instead of 8 lanes and you get the idea. If you are delayed 2 hours in traffic, which is common, the 100 miles out of route is a deal.

Often hopped US-41 to avoid tolls in my semi. State even put a set of scales on US-41 so we would not feel lonely.

Personally from Oshkosh, I'd drop down to Madison on US-41, WI-26 and US-151 then take I-39 south to Bloomington IL, I-74 to Indy I-70 to Dayton. It's 568 miles vs 477 and no Chicago. 90 miles difference and no Chicago.... Depending upon traffic, it is probably quicker. Did I mention no Chicago?

[AJR]

Rt 41 to I94 then I294 and keep telling yourself I294 is better than driving I94 through Chicago during rush hour(s).