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I-90 or I-94 qucikest across the Dakotas?

Started by 8.Lug, June 03, 2016, 03:31:48 PM

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I-90 or I-94 qucikest across the Dakotas?

I-90 through South Dakota
8 (53.3%)
I-94 through North Dakota
7 (46.7%)

Total Members Voted: 15

8.Lug

I recently completed my first cross-country (NY to Seattle and back), I used I-90 then split off onto I-94 through ND because GPS and such showed it as a bit faster. Seeing as I always drive at night to avoid the bad drivers, it was a fairly uneventful drive. However, I all of a sudden got spooked by the sheer volume of dead deer once I hit MT as well as being in a new(to me) car that I want to keep pretty for as long as possible. Typically I drive cars that are more at home in a post-apocalyptic B-movie, but things were very different this time. This led me to switch to day driving for the trip back - and I chose to stay with the run through ND on I-94. I feel this was a mistake, especially after dealing with Minneapolis. I'm not sure when my next trip to Seattle will be - but it will be soon - as I'm looking to move there, just tying up loose ends here.

Although watching the sunset over Teddy Roosevelt Nat. Park was beautiful, I don't do sight-seeing on any of these trips, my time is already allocated for my destination - so this is purely a time-saving question.

I-90 or I-94?
Contrary to popular belief, things are exactly as they seem.


US 41

I voted I-90. If I was making the trip from the 90/94 split in Wisconsin to Billings, MT, I would take I-90 to Spearfish, SD, and then cut up US 212 to Billings.
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mgk920

The times that Big Rig Steve has traveled between Billings, MT and Tomah, WI, he has always used I-94 (yes, including transiting the MStP metro area via I-694).

Mike

Sykotyk

I second US41, my preferred route to take, and it's scenic too, was I-90 then cut up US 212 to Crow Agency, MT back to I-90. If you want the all-freeway route, stick to I-94. Just don't hit the Twin Cities at rush hour (true for almost all cities).

And deer in Montana come with the territory. They're on I-90, as well. I-90 & US212 is 21 miles shorter than taking I-94. Taking I-90 all the way is almost 50 miles longer than I-94 all the way, and almost 70 miles longer than cutting across Us212. However, I drove US212 at night one time. Deer everywhere. Couldn't drive fast at all as they were lined along the road licking the salt off (this was spring) and occasionally running to the other side in front of you.

Want to shave more miles off the I-90/US212 route, take I-94 west into Montana. Get on MT200S from Glendive to Circle and then MT200 west through Great Falls and back to I-90 near Missoula. It's 27 miles shorter than I-90/US212. I did this once heading out to Washington. You are by yourself on 200 for long stretches and very small towns. But, it's beautiful out there in Big Sky Country.

CobaltYoshi27

Google says that I-94 is about 10 minutes faster, but since they're both 14.5 hours, it really doesn't matter all too much. I would pick I-94 during the warmer months and I-90 during the colder months.
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froggie

It could really go either way.  I-90 is about 20 miles shorter and has less traffic overall.  I-94 has more population, but that also means that I-94 has more food/hotel options and also more services should you run into an issue.  Towards the west, I-94 also has slightly more forgiving topography.

All it would take is a single crash or major construction zone on one to skew the results towards the other.  And both routes have such construction zones this year.

Henry

It really doesn't matter to me. I-90 is a great route to take if you want to avoid the big cities that I-94 goes through further east (namely, Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul), and it's more scenic too. However, if I were to stop somewhere along the way just to rest, I'd take I-94.
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Sykotyk

Quote from: Henry on June 06, 2016, 10:32:27 AM
It really doesn't matter to me. I-90 is a great route to take if you want to avoid the big cities that I-94 goes through further east (namely, Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul), and it's more scenic too. However, if I were to stop somewhere along the way just to rest, I'd take I-94.

Why would you take I-94 through Milwaukee if you were headed to, for example, somewhere from Chicago or further east? 90/94 are joined from near Madison WI to Tomah, WI. That's the junction to the junction in Billings, MT that matters.

Sykotyk

Quote from: froggie on June 06, 2016, 10:07:15 AM
It could really go either way.  I-90 is about 20 miles shorter and has less traffic overall.  I-94 has more population, but that also means that I-94 has more food/hotel options and also more services should you run into an issue.  Towards the west, I-94 also has slightly more forgiving topography.

All it would take is a single crash or major construction zone on one to skew the results towards the other.  And both routes have such construction zones this year.


Actually, it's 34 miles LONGER to take I-90 from the split in Wisconsin to where they join in Montana. Google routes you up SD34 to US87 to US212 to Crow Agency and back to I-90. Which is the shorter, but requires two-lane driving and going through Belle Fourche. And speed traps such as Broadus and Lame Deer.

froggie

I didn't use Google to check, but since you noted the disparity, I double-checked my numbers and you're right, it's 30-some miles longer via I-90.

CobaltYoshi27

Quote from: Sykotyk on June 06, 2016, 03:47:59 PM
Quote from: froggie on June 06, 2016, 10:07:15 AM
It could really go either way.  I-90 is about 20 miles shorter and has less traffic overall.  I-94 has more population, but that also means that I-94 has more food/hotel options and also more services should you run into an issue.  Towards the west, I-94 also has slightly more forgiving topography.

All it would take is a single crash or major construction zone on one to skew the results towards the other.  And both routes have such construction zones this year.


Actually, it's 34 miles LONGER to take I-90 from the split in Wisconsin to where they join in Montana. Google routes you up SD34 to US87 to US212 to Crow Agency and back to I-90. Which is the shorter, but requires two-lane driving and going through Belle Fourche. And speed traps such as Broadus and Lame Deer.

Taking I-90 without getting off is actually 15 minutes slower, so I'd say I-94 is probably the better way to go.
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froggie

As long as you don't time yourself for Twin Cities rush hour, or the "lake rush" (WB 94 Thursday/Friday afternoons or EB 94 Sunday/holiday afternoons during the summer between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud), then yes.

8.Lug

Looks like the general consensus is I-90 is the scenic route while I-94 is the quicker route, however I just read that SD upped I-90 to 80MPH, did that go into effect? An extra 5 miles covered every hour might make them even.
Contrary to popular belief, things are exactly as they seem.

SD Mapman

Quote from: 8.Lug on June 10, 2016, 12:42:18 AM
Looks like the general consensus is I-90 is the scenic route while I-94 is the quicker route, however I just read that SD upped I-90 to 80MPH, did that go into effect? An extra 5 miles covered every hour might make them even.
Yes, most of I-90 in both SD and WY are now set at 80, but other than that I would stick with I-90 for the main reason that who would want to go to North Dakota for any reason? Additionally, I wouldn't take the 212 cutoff because who wants to go to Belle (plus the Bear Lodge and Bighorns look cool)?


No, I'm not biased.
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8.Lug

Quote from: SD Mapman on June 12, 2016, 01:30:31 PM...who would want to go to North Dakota for any reason?

Honestly, until I hit Washington state, this was my favorite thing I experienced on my whole trip. I-94 due west in Teddy Roosevelt Park, camera facing east. (I just stuck my hand out the window and clicked a bunch of times hoping to get something decent, these were the only 3 that were any good). It wasn't just the scenery either, the road got all wobbly like it had just experienced an earthquake or land slide, the earth had definitely shifted for some reason. It was such fun to drive on and I briefly felt like I was in that post-apocalyptic era.





Contrary to popular belief, things are exactly as they seem.

triplemultiplex

Quote from: 8.Lug on June 12, 2016, 04:03:40 PM
It wasn't just the scenery either, the road got all wobbly like it had just experienced an earthquake or land slide, the earth had definitely shifted for some reason. It was such fun to drive on and I briefly felt like I was in that post-apocalyptic era.

Sounds like that fun mineral bentonite is to blame.  It's the blueish grey layer in the bluffs around there.  Bentonite is old volcanic ash that has been altered over time into a clay that becomes very unstable when it absorbs water.  It's crap for building roads on top of.  Every time it gets wet, the road bed sinks into it a little deeper.  Unevenly of course.  It's more fun that way.
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rte66man

Take 90.  You can see things like this:



US16 and 16A just south of Rapid City.  Can't pass up a chance to see a modern wooden-beamed bridge.
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corco

90 to 212 is my preferred route as the fastest. Otherwise 94 is better - plus the badlands in ND and all the way through eastern Montana are more interesting at least to me than the drive from Gillette to Billings.

Jardine

Meh, 90 or 94 both suck.

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