Need help in by-passing Chicago on trip from Maryland

In order to give you instructions on how to by-pass Chicago we need to know what brand and model GPS do you have, is it capable of storing routes or do you have to coax it to the route you want by building POIs and manually massaging the POIs to make it go the way you want.

there is no real way to bypass chicago. in northern Indiania the toll road is 80/90. you hit the 90 split first, stay on 80, the 80/294 split is close to the IN/IL border, watch for lane signs, important that you are in the correct lane, as traffic can be really bad in that area

If it were me driving I think I'd just set my GPS twice. The first destination I'd use would be Elmhurst, IL, and once I got into Elmhurst, set the new destination for Milwaukee.

It seems though that blake7mstr has the bases covered. For s***s and giggles I just ran Mapsource and this is the route it gave me. I set the start point at a bank in Laurel, MD and the end point as a 7-Eleven in Milwaukee.

1. Bank of Delmarva 0 ft
2. Get on E Market St and drive west 7 ft
3. Turn right onto N Central Ave 334 ft
4. Keep right onto Seaford Rd 0.6 mi
5. Turn right onto Discount Land Rd 0.7 mi
6. Turn left onto Sussex Hwy N 1.5 mi
7. Turn left onto Hwy 404 14.5 mi
8. Turn right onto Seashore Hwy 16.6 mi
9. Keep right onto Ocean Gtwy 46.3 mi
10. Take the US-50 W/US-301 S ramp to the right 53.0 mi
11. Take exit 27B to the right onto Md-2 N/Ritchie Hwy towards Severna Pk 72.4 mi
12. Keep left onto Ritchie Hwy 80.8 mi
13. Take the Md-100 ramp to the right towards Baltimore/Gibson Island 82.4 mi
14. Take the Md-100 W ramp to the left towards Baltimore 82.5 mi
15. Keep left onto Md-100 W towards Ellicott City 85.6 mi
16. Continue on Md-100 W towards Ellicott City 88.0 mi
17. Continue on Md-100 W towards Ellicott City 91.5 mi
18. Take the US-29 N ramp to the right towards I-70 99.3 mi
19. Keep left onto Columbia Pike 101 mi
20. Take exit 25B to the right onto I-70 W towards Frederick 103 mi
21. Keep left onto I-70 W towards Hancock 164 mi
22. Keep right onto I-70 W towards Breezewood Pa 189 mi
23. Take the US-30 E/I-70 W ramp to the right towards Harrisburg/McConnellsburg/New Stanton/Penna Turnpike 213 mi
24. Take the I-70 W ramp to the right towards I-76/Penna Turnpike/Pittsburgh/Harrisburg 213 mi
25. Take the I-70 W/I-76 W ramp to the right towards Pittsburgh/Exits 146-2 215 mi
26. Keep right onto I-76 W 346 mi
27. Continue on I-80 W towards Cleveland 399 mi
28. Continue on I-80 W towards Through Traffic 431 mi
29. Continue on I-80 W towards Toledo 456 mi
30. Continue on I-80 W/I-90 W towards Toledo 499 mi
31. Continue on I-80/I-90 towards Chicago 702 mi
32. Take exit 21 to the right onto I-80 W/I-94/US-6 towards In-51/Des Moines 754 mi
33. Take the I-94 W/I-80 W/In-51 ramp to the right 754 mi
34. Take the I-94 W/I-80 W ramp to the left towards In-51 S 754 mi
35. Keep left onto I-294 N/I-80 W/US-6 towards Il-83/Wisconsin-Iowa/Torrence Ave 771 mi
36. Keep left onto I-294 N towards Wisconsin 777 mi
37. Keep right onto I-294 N 778 mi
38. Keep right onto I-294 N 792 mi
39. Keep left onto I-294 N 802 mi
40. Keep left onto I-294 N/Tri-State towards Milwaukee 804 mi
41. Keep left onto I-294 N towards Milwaukee 813 mi
42. Keep left onto I-294 N 814 mi
43. Keep left onto I-94 W 846 mi
44. Keep right onto I-43 N/US-41 N/I-94 W towards Downtown/Milwaukee 884 mi
45. Take exit 314A-B to the right onto Howard Ave towards Holt Ave 885 mi
46. Take the Howard Ave ramp to the right 885 mi
47. Turn right onto W Howard Ave 885 mi
48. Turn left onto S Howell Ave 885 mi
49. Keep right onto S Howell Ave 886 mi

Surprisingly, turning the toll road avoidance ON in Mapsource results in being routed through Chicago.

I used to drive it once a month for about 20 years. I294(Tri-state Parkway) is a toll road, and it's wasn't one of those you pay when you get off, you paid every so many miles. need to have change on you.
to reiterate make sure you are in the correct lane, and if you can time it when you hit this area stay away from rush hour. rush hour traffic is a b***h. one last thing, 294 is a way to get to Chicago O'hare airport.

since you will be traveling in Dec, you could hit lake effect snow in Northern Indiania, go from dry pavement to 6 inches of snow very quickly and then back to dry pavement. so exercise caution.

I will assume you have an EZ-Pass. It works on all the roads you will be traveling. The other point is will you be using a GPS or paper maps?

Here are some directions generated from Streets & Trips from City Hall to City Hall:

Time Mile Instruction For Toward
Summary: 802.5 miles (1 day, 4 hours, 1 minute)
DAY 1
9:00 AM 0.0 Depart Laurel City Hall on Sandy Spring Rd (East)
9:00 AM 0.4 Turn RIGHT (East) onto Montgomery St.
9:02 AM 0.7 Turn LEFT (North) onto SR-216 [7th St]
9:04 AM 2.1 Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-95 / Baltimore
9:08 AM 5.2 At exit 38B, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto MD-32 / Columbia
9:26 AM 22.0 Take Ramp (LEFT) onto I-70 / US-40 / Frederick
10:35 AM 101.8 Entering Pennsylvania
11:00 AM 125.0 Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto US-30 / I-70 / Harrisburg / McConnellsburg / New Stanton / Penna Turnpike
11:00 AM 125.3 Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-70 / I-76 / Penna Turnpike / Pittsburgh / Harrisburg
11:02 AM 126.8 Turn RIGHT onto I-70 / I-76 / Pittsburgh / Exits 146-2
11:03 AM 127.2 *Toll road* Merge onto I-70 [I-76]
12:17 PM 213.4 *Toll road* At exit 75, road name changes to I-76 [Pennsylvania Tpke]
12:55 PM 257.9 Stay on I-76 [Pennsylvania Tpke] (West)
1:21 PM 288.9 Entering Ohio
1:21 PM 288.9 *Toll road* Stay on I-76 [Ohio Tpke] (North-West)
1:40 PM 311.1 *Toll road* At exit 218, road name changes to I-80 [Ohio Tpke]
4:45 PM 529.9 Entering Indiana
5:00 PM 547.1 End of day
DAY 2
9:00 AM 547.1 *Toll road* Stay on I-80 [I-90]
10:43 AM 665.6 At exit 21, turn RIGHT I-80 / I-94 / US-6 / In-51 / Des Moines
10:44 AM 666.2 Keep RIGHT to stay on I-94 / I-80 / In-51
10:45 AM 666.3 Take Ramp (LEFT) onto I-94 / I-80 / In-51 S
11:01 AM 681.8 Entering Illinois
11:01 AM 682.6 Keep RIGHT onto I-94 [Bishop Ford Fwy] I-94 / IL-394 S / Danville / Chicago
11:03 AM 684.2 Keep LEFT onto I-80 / I-294
11:03 AM 684.4 *Toll road* Merge onto I-294 [I-80]
11:09 AM 690.1 *Toll road* Keep LEFT onto I-294 Express [Tri-State Tollway]
11:10 AM 690.7 *Toll road* Merge onto I-294 [Tri-State Tollway]
11:10 AM 691.4 *Toll road* At near Markham, stay on I-294 [Tri-State Tollway] (North)
11:58 AM 738.4 *Toll road* Merge onto I-94 [Tri-State Tollway]
12:23 PM 762.2 Stay on I-94 [US-41] (North)
12:24 PM 763.1 Entering Wisconsin
12:52 PM 795.9 Merge onto I-43 [I-94]
Reconstruction near Milwaukee (EB) (May 14, 2010 - December 10, 2010)
12:58 PM 801.1 At exit 1D, turn RIGHT onto Ramp 0.9 mi Plankinton Ave
12:59 PM 802.0 Bear LEFT (North) onto N Plankinton Ave
1:00 PM 802.4 Turn RIGHT (East) onto US-18 [W Wells St]
1:01 PM 802.5 Merge onto US-18 [E Wells St] 54 yds
1:01 PM 802.5 Arrive Milwaukee City Hall

SUMMARY
Driving distance: 802.5 miles
Trip duration: 1 day, 4 hours, 1 minute
Driving time: 12 hours, 1 minute

I did a similar trip a few years ago, & I didn't find a good route around Chicago either.

Fred

Sandy, put this via point in between Laurel MD and Milwaukee, WI. N41.78873 W87.90789

That will route you to I-80 to I-294 then to Milwaukee. It's the best route around Chicago to Milwaukee. I-294 is a toll road, so bring change or an EZ-Pass. We call it I-Pass in IL but it's compatible with other state's systems.

I-294 was rebuilt a few years ago to add a lane or two. It is definitely the way to go rather than going directly through Chicago. It can still be very congested but nothing like going through the city. Rush hour used to be in the morning and the early evening, but now you really never know when the traffic will come to a stop. It's getting more and more like Los Angeles every day. I-294 takes you west of Chicago, but still through a completely urban area.
The tip about putting Elmhurst into the GPS and then Milwaukee was an excellent tip.

I live in the Chicago area. There are only two good combinations of routes into or around Chicago that don't take you way out of your way to Milwaukee. (To *really* bypass Chicago, you have to go two or three hours out of your way to Milwaukee--not worth it.) Take a look at an interstate highway map--you remember those ;-)-- for a bit to see what I'm talking about and before trying to set a GPS.

1. The Tri-State Tollway: from I-80 in NW Indiana, take I-294 (the Tri-State) which ends where it merges with I-94 to Milwaukee. This tollway bypasses downtown Chicago, but is indeed a tollway on which one has to pay tolls every 10 miles or so on I-294 and I-94 through Illinois. You really want an E-Z pass toll transponder so you can sail through tolls without stopping to to do this, which being from Maryland, you might well have, because E-Z Pass is used on most toll roads between New England, DC, and Illinois. If you don't have a toll transponder, you have to stop every 10 miles and manually pay the tolls, plus the tolls are twice as expensive here when not using a transponder. It gets old real fast.

2. If you want to avoid all the tolls from NW Indiana to Milwaukee, you'll have to go through downtown Chicago. From NW Indiana, take I-80 west to I-57 north to I-94 west to US 41 north (45 mph with traffic lights to avoid the last two toolbooths on the Tollway, though I recommend just staying on I-94 instead and paying the last two tolls) back to I-94 west to Milwaukee.

The Tri-State Tollway (I-294 to I-94) usually only has heavy traffic during rush hour. I-80 in NW Indiana and especially I-90 through downtown Chicago are horrible in rush hour and can delay your trip at any time. Nonetheless, at all costs, I strongly recommend avoiding passing through or around Chicago during a rush hour, which peaks from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and again from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Even on weekends or other off-peak times, though, it can be very slow going.

Note that from Laurel, you have two choices to get to NW Indiana, choosing one of two routes at a dividing point on I-70 in Hancock, Maryland. One is the toll-free way that typically takes about 90 minutes longer than the toll route and has more truck traffic, via Indianapolis. The usually slightly quicker route takes the Pa. and Ohio Turnpikes and Indiana Toll Road, passing just south of the Pittsburgh and Cleveland areas.

THAT is not the way.

Actually, there isn't any way to "bypass" Chicago, given your start and end points.
Take I-80 to I-294 North and pay the tolls.
Avoid rush hours and the rest is fate.

I would think that a "competent" GPS would take you that way if it was set for fastest time and NOT set to avoid tolls.

I believe granddaughters is a Garmin. sorry don't know exact model. but it's really small, that's why i thought if i could get good written instructions she will be giving them to me, as i will drive the last leg of the trip.
sandy

I believe this is the best set of instructions i've recieved. I will print these off and use them. i'm not looking to AVOID tolls, just don't want to get into downtown chicago. i figure it will be around 8 or 9pm by the time we hit that area, and we will just want to get home .. thank you so much for your help.
this was a God send finding this site.
even trying to understand hubbys instructions was mind boggling.

regards,
Sandy

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP. I WILL GIVE THIS INFO TO JENNIFER TO LOAD IN HER GPS.

REGARDS.
SANDY

THANK YOU SO MUCH. SINCE I WILL BE DRIVING I WILL COPY THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND USE THEM.

REGARDS,
SANDY

I hear you, and you're making the correct call, IMO. And you are correct in the original post... you want to keep OFF the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94/I-90 up to downtown Chicago) and the Kennedy Expressway (I-94/I-90 through downtown Chicago) and the Edens Expressway (north suburbs of Chicago, I-94 up to the Tri-State Tollway). These highways are all free but do bog down, especially in rush hour.

So from I-80 in NW Indiana, I definitely recommend that you take I-294 up to I-94 in Illinois, AKA the Tri-State Tollway, particularly if you have an E-Z pass toll transponder, which does work on the Tri-State Tollway even though they call it the "I-Pass" ("I" for Illinois) there. It costs somewhere between $5 and $10 to go between NW Indiana and the Wisconsin border on the tollway in a passenger car, but it will *usually* save you time, *unless* there's an accident or construction reducing traffic to one lane :-0 on the tollway. If you don't have the transponder, it's a closer call, because you will have to stop, I don't know, six or seven times, wait in line, come up with the cash... it really irritates drivers, believe me. Even with stopping to pay tolls, it's often the better deal in rush hour.

Some people (our Pacific coast friends, in particular!) just have a foaming-at-the-mouth aversion to tolls, generally, and so I always give both sets of directions. The tolls are admittedly less than fair, even more to local residents who need to use the toll roads a lot, but what are you going to do? Taking the Pa. Turnpike, Ohio Turnpike, and Indiana Toll Road probably adds something like $40 to $50 to the trip for a passenger car. Some of it, you make up in saving gas, but still...

Oh, and a correction (I'm no longer permitted to edit my earlier post, but this doesn't apply to you, only to somebody else finding this thread later who is DETERMINED to avoid tolls): the best TOLL-FREE route from NW Indiana to Milwaukee is not I-80 west to I-57 north (which works but is 5 or so miles longer) but I-80 west to I-94 west to US 41 north back to I-94... slow but toll-free, if that's what a driver wants most!

you might want to invest in the I-pass, the tolls in Illinois are cheaper with it than cash. If you travel in the winter months, taking the toll roads is a really good thing, generally they have the plows, and salt/sand truck out almost right away, that will be especially important if the weather turns cold and the lake effect machine gets going. the tolls will be a good investment.

link to the Illinois toll system
http://www.illinoisvirtualtollway.com/
have a safe trip.

If you like nice seanery might I suggest the SS. Badger! http://www.ssbadger.com

You will skip Chicago entirely.

I live fourty miles form downtown and I was making the trip I would take 80 west to 355 north to lake cook road east to 294. It's a little longer but a lot less trafic. This is my first post and the only way I have found to post

Welcome to the site. You can create topics by clicking on the link 'Create content' under your name on the right side.

(shameless self promotion) I recommend picking up my Historic Ships POI. SS Badger and SS Spartan are both located within along with USCGC Snohomish. (/shameless self promotion)

The ferry's a fun and yes, much more scenic, though pricier and slower way to get from Indiana to Michigan to Milwaukee, and does indeed bypass Chicago, but OP Sandy would have a long wait at the dock following this advice. Sandy said their planned trip is in December 2010. The next sailing of the SS Badger is in May 2011.

I live along the route you're mentioning and it is less traffic on average and is a worthy alternative to taking the Tri-State tollway all the way across Illinois *as long as* it's avoided in either the morning or afternoon weekday rush hour periods I mentioned when traffic is normally quite heavy there as well and this route is not likely to feel like a good alternative. Some rush hours it might be better, other rush hours, not so much.

Did not notice the time frame mentioned.[/chagrin]

No problem. I just didn't want OP to take this ferry advice in December.

Speaking of December, after further review, there is one other factor to consider that might make the otherwise slightly longer I-70 route the faster and easier way to go in December: lake effect snows. They hit the area between Cleveland and Toledo and the area across northern Indiana pretty hard through a good part of December. When the wind is out of the north, there, it blows across the Great Lakes water that is warmer in December and kicks up local bands of snow that can be quite intense and really slow you down. They're supposed to have several days of it now along I-80 in this area.

When you're driving long-distance in December, you always want to check out and keep in mind the weather forecast for the next several days, and plan your route accordingly. Sometimes the southern route via I-70 through Columbus and Indianapolis is much better than the northern route taking I-80 south of Pittsburgh and Cleveland; sometimes it's the other way around; and still other times, neither one, or both will be equally affected by snow that might be coming from the southwest rather than over the lakes.

Having been raised in Chicago and having lived in Michigan, I cannot tell you how often I encountered heavy lake effect snows along that northern route. 20 or 30 miles to the south can make a big difference in safe travel or at times, even travel at all. I live about 3.5 hours south of Chicago in Central Indiana. I have left home on a very nice sunny day and have run into hellacious snowstorms and whiteouts when nearing Merrilville, Indiana along the northwestern part of Indiana. He gives good advice !

I travel through Chicago a coupe times a year and am able to time it so I'm very off-hour from normal traffic - it still is painful - and as everyone says, no viable alternative to bypass

I live in Chicago. The best way around the city is to drive early in the morning or late at night. At those times the Dan Ryan to Kennedy is the fastest. To by pass the city you drive west on I80 to I294 north(I 294 was widen to 4 lanes).

When visting in Lake County and traveling back to TN, I usally leave at about 3-4 am to miss the heavy traffic. This saves me about 1 to 1 1/2 hours of traveling time. When I travel to Chicago, I plan to be in the area late morning to early afternoon or sometime after 6pm when traveling though the Chicago area. I never travel though the downtown area.

If you're going through at this time, you'd probably be fine going through Chicago. But, as always, you're taking a chance. The tollway will be fine at this time of night.