News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

NIU to Minnesota

Started by ET21, September 27, 2014, 03:55:14 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

ET21

I'm gonna be heading up to visit a family member and watch a Minnesota football game in a few weeks. I'm just gonna be on I-39 and I-94 for the entire way. For anyone who lives in Wisconsin or the Twin Cities area, are there any segments or nasty construction areas I should be wary of or try to avoid?

Thanks in advance  :)
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90


JREwing78

#1
Traffic tends to be heavy heading to Wisconsin on I-39/90 from Chicago on Fridays, and vice-versa on Sundays. The 6-lane stretches in IL and from Madison north handle that traffic well enough. But the 4-lane stretch from the IL line to Madison may give you a bit of road rage, depending on what time you hit it.

Worse: After 8pm evenings, there's repaving work on that I-39/90 that involves dropping a lane (it may be completed by the time you make your trip), and bridge work just south of US-12/18 and at US-151. There's also a lot of construction on the Beltline around Madison. Be thankful that the big summer tourist season is over.

There's also considerable construction work on I-94 west of the I-90 split at Tomah.  I-90 to US-52 near Rochester may be a better bet; there's a short stretch of work near LaCrosse, but otherwise appears quiet.

You also probably already know about the big construction project on I-90 east of Rockford. Avoid that.

Brandon

Quote from: JREwing78 on September 27, 2014, 11:02:31 PM
You also probably already know about the big construction project on I-90 east of Rockford. Avoid that.

If he's coming from DeKalb (NIU), it's pretty easy by using I-39 to the N-W Tollway.  His big question is...
should he use I-88 or IL-38 to I-39.  :pan:
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

DandyDan

Quote from: Brandon on September 28, 2014, 12:09:16 AM
Quote from: JREwing78 on September 27, 2014, 11:02:31 PM
You also probably already know about the big construction project on I-90 east of Rockford. Avoid that.

If he's coming from DeKalb (NIU), it's pretty easy by using I-39 to the N-W Tollway.  His big question is...
should he use I-88 or IL-38 to I-39.  :pan:
I myself went to NIU back in the 90's for a time and I was told by someone from Rockford once the actual fastest way to Rockford from DeKalb was north on Glidden Road to Cherry Valley Road, the diagonal road between Cherry Valley and Genoa.  I drove it once in the dying days of my time in DeKalb (after I dropped out for good from NIU) and other than a bunch of 4 way stops and having to wind your way through Cherry Valley to get to US 20, it's not a bad road.  Of course, that was 20 years ago or so, so it might all be different now.

FWIW, my hypothetical Illinois 76 extension is south on Genoa Road and then onto Glidden Road all the way to I-88.
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

ET21

IL-38 > Tolls anyday  ;-)

Luckily for me, my travel times will be Noon-5:30 on Thursday. I don't know when I will be leaving that Saturday because the B1G flop conference has yet to announce a time for that game. I was debating on doing a I-90/US-52 if it looks bad, guess I'll just look at Monday-Friday traffic maps on I-94 the next couple of weeks and see how the traffic flows.

Thanks for the construction updates, hopefully the only rage I'll deal with is Twin Cities rush hour 
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90

Revive 755

Quote from: ET21 on September 28, 2014, 07:30:53 PM
IL-38 > Tolls anyday  ;-)

And IL 64 > IL 38, since it doesn't have the brief slow spots on the edges of Malta and Creston.

ET21

Quote from: DandyDan on September 28, 2014, 01:18:27 AM
Quote from: Brandon on September 28, 2014, 12:09:16 AM
Quote from: JREwing78 on September 27, 2014, 11:02:31 PM
You also probably already know about the big construction project on I-90 east of Rockford. Avoid that.

If he's coming from DeKalb (NIU), it's pretty easy by using I-39 to the N-W Tollway.  His big question is...
should he use I-88 or IL-38 to I-39.  :pan:
I myself went to NIU back in the 90's for a time and I was told by someone from Rockford once the actual fastest way to Rockford from DeKalb was north on Glidden Road to Cherry Valley Road, the diagonal road between Cherry Valley and Genoa.  I drove it once in the dying days of my time in DeKalb (after I dropped out for good from NIU) and other than a bunch of 4 way stops and having to wind your way through Cherry Valley to get to US 20, it's not a bad road.  Of course, that was 20 years ago or so, so it might all be different now.

FWIW, my hypothetical Illinois 76 extension is south on Genoa Road and then onto Glidden Road all the way to I-88.

I used Glidden Road just last year as it was on my way home from Whitewater, WI. No one uses it until you cross IL-64, was way faster than IL-23
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.