Possible Future Florida Trip - I-95 versus Atlanta

[Revive 755]

I'm playing around with ideas for a future trip (over a year out) from Chicagoland to the Orlando area.  Using Google for routing:

* The shortest route is using IL 394, some back roads to the US 41/IN 63 corridor (not my favorite rural expressway), then down to I-24 and I-75 at 1,126 miles/17 hours 53 minutes

* Using US 41/IN 63, I-24, I-65 south to Montgomery AL then down US 231 to I-10 is 1,187 miles/19 hours 2 minutes

* Going over to Cincinnati and picking up I-75 is 1,185 miles/18 hours 29 minutes (allows clinching of additional sections of I-75 in Kentucky and Tennessee)

* Going through Indianapolis and then down IN 37/I-69 towards I-24 then using I-75 is 1,177 miles/18 hours 23 minutes

* Going over to Cincinnati, using I-75 to Knoxville then cutting over to I-95 using I-40 and I-26, plus using I-295 and FL 98 around Jacksonville is 1,222 miles/19 hours 21 minutes.

I've been on the I-65/US 231/I-10 route and the I-24/I-75 routes from Nashville to Florida before and experienced delays in Atlanta with the latter.  I also seem to recall hearing I-95 may be one of those interstates that is overdue for additional lanes.  Kind of curious what everyone's thoughts are on trying I-95 versus dealing with Atlanta.

[roadman65]

Why I-95? If you leave Chicago it would be way out to go to the East Coast to grab.

[Max Rockatansky]

Why I-95? If you leave Chicago it would be way out to go to the East Coast to grab.

I-65 would be a way better bet from Chicago Area than swinging wide towards I-95.  US 231 from Montgomery would be an efficient way to get to I-10 in Florida.

[Revive 755]

Why I-95? If you leave Chicago it would be way out to go to the East Coast to grab.

• I haven't been on I-95 in Georgia or Florida, and only a small stretch of I-95 near I-26 in South Carolina.  I have been on the I-65/US 231 and I-24/I-75 routes a few times already.


• Going over to I-95 bypasses Atlanta.  Or is the Jacksonville area just as bad?


• Distance wise it doesn't look like going over to I-95 actually adds too much distance compared to the most direct route (96 miles/8.5% longer, though running the directions in Google tonight is giving slightly different distances with the I-95 route being 1230 miles).  The difference decreases when compared to the I-65/US 231 and I-75 options.

[Max Rockatansky]

You're not missing anything on I-95 in Georgia or in Jacksonville.  The corridor is extremely dull and uninteresting.  Really there isn't much reason to go that far eastward unless you are really dead set on I-95 something. 

[roadman65]

If you want to swing east, why not at Columbia, SC use US 321 to Hardeeville and then pick up 95.  Then at Jacksonville bypass it ( if arrival is at peak times) on I-295. Or you could take FL 200 west from the second FL exit to US 301 and head south to I-75 at Ocala.

[Avalanchez71]

Why I-95? If you leave Chicago it would be way out to go to the East Coast to grab.

I-65 would be a way better bet from Chicago Area than swinging wide towards I-95.  US 231 from Montgomery would be an efficient way to get to I-10 in Florida.

The stretch of US 80 from I-65 to US 231 is fun to guess what flag the motel used to fly once-upon-a-time.  The area is strife with older motor courts and motor inns that were converted to other flagged motels/hotels.  Some of which were flagged over again and others are gone.  There is one that was just a Super 8 not long ago that is defunct now.  It looked like it was probably a nice Ramada or may Holiday Inn back in it's heyday.

[Avalanchez71]

You're not missing anything on I-95 in Georgia or in Jacksonville.  The corridor is extremely dull and uninteresting.  Really there isn't much reason to go that far eastward unless you are really dead set on I-95 something.

US 17 is slightly more interesting in this corridor.

[Max Rockatansky]

You're not missing anything on I-95 in Georgia or in Jacksonville.  The corridor is extremely dull and uninteresting.  Really there isn't much reason to go that far eastward unless you are really dead set on I-95 something.

US 17 is slightly more interesting in this corridor.

FL 19 even more so south of Jacksonville, also lines up better with Disney and bypasses much of Orlando.

[wriddle082]

I-40 through the Smokies may or may not have construction going on now (they were rebuilding a bridge at either the Fines Creek or Harmon Den exits), but I-26 has some really annoying widening construction between Asheville and Hendersonville, and again in SC between Little Mountain and Irmo (approaching Columbia).  The Asheville construction seems to slow traffic down at various times for no apparent reason.  The construction outside Columbia doesn't have traffic as unpredictable, but if there's an accident it can get really bad really fast.  Same with 26 past Columbia from Sandy Run to I-95, which should be widened right now.  Traffic can just spontaneously slow done usually due to slow trucks micropassing, or an accident can mess things up quickly.

Basically, 26 really isn't worth it, unless you're in it for the scenery from Hendersonville to the SC line.  Otherwise you're just driving through the same woods and up and down the same hills for what seems like forever.  And then 95 is no cake walk either until you get into GA and some relief when the third lane begins.  True, 95 has little scenery through GA, but it's usually reliably fast.  And Jacksonville is best bypassed using the 295 East Beltway, which goes over the Dames Point Bridge.  But going straight through Jacksonville on 95 usually isn't that bad outside of rush hours.

[Avalanchez71]

You're not missing anything on I-95 in Georgia or in Jacksonville.  The corridor is extremely dull and uninteresting.  Really there isn't much reason to go that far eastward unless you are really dead set on I-95 something.

US 17 is slightly more interesting in this corridor.

FL 19 even more so south of Jacksonville, also lines up better with Disney and bypasses much of Orlando.

FL 19 is a neat drive.  It goes through the Ocala National Forest.

[KCRoadFan]

Another route I thought of was I-65 to Louisville, then I-64 over to Lexington, picking up I-75 there - how does that compare?

[hbelkins]

Another route I thought of was I-65 to Louisville, then I-64 over to Lexington, picking up I-75 there - how does that compare?

That's out of the way compared to I-74 to Cincy.

The problem here is that the OP is coming from west of I-75. I had a neighbor who used to snowbird in Florida, and he was in the habit of taking I-26 to I-95 (reached by KY 15, US 119, and US 23 from our outpost) just so he could avoid Atlanta. The extra mileage was an acceptable tradeoff for the traffic headaches in Atlanta.

Coming from west of I-75, I'm not sure how you would avoid Atlanta without resorting to two-lane roads. Much of US 27 south of Chattanooga is four lanes, but I've driven through Rome once (on a Sunday afternoon) and the traffic was frustrating even then.