Opinions on Bemidji, MN to Massilon, OH trip...? Any input greatly appreciated

[dislocatedkid]

I'm driving from Bemidji to Massilon in a couple weeks and am considering a few options when it comes to my route. Ive made this drive a few times...being that most of my family still resides in NE Ohio, but still am not sure which options make the most sense. So i figured what better place to ask...right?...

1st- Bemidji to Eau Claire, WI: Is it better to slide over to Superior and take 53 down? Or head south to the Twin Cities {via Akeley, Motley, St. Cloud} and then across the St. Croix?

2nd- Chicago...ugh...im always second guessing which way to approach and get through the metro. Is there construction on the Jane Addams (I-90)? Is 90<290<294 still my best bet? Or should i do 39<88<355<80? I should be in Rockford around late morning if that makes a difference.

3rd- The Ohio Portion: I HATE the turnpike...but am usually heading to Elyria so it was always a givin id have to suck it up and get through it, but being that i'm heading to Massilon this time gives me other options. Would it really cost me a ton of time to avoid the Ohio portion of hell and head down to Fort Wayne and over on 30? Or even turn south @ I-75 and follow 15/23 south to Upper Sandusky?...If not I'd much rather take any alternative to the "pike"...but if that would cause me to lose a significant amount of time then i'd just brave the speed traps and boredom.

But if anyone has ANY opinoins or info...i'd certainly appreciate it. thanks.

[froggie]

For the first part, it's 6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other.  There isn't any real clear advantage to taking one route over the other.  On the one part, heading down through the Cities has more 4-lane and freeway available.  However, you gotta get down to Motley to get to it...by which time you could be most of the way to Duluth.  Both I-94 and I-694 are being worked on in the Metro (694 is single-lane through Oakdale), while going the other way, there's roadwork on I-35 in Duluth.

[dislocatedkid]

For the first part, it's 6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other.  There isn't any real clear advantage to taking one route over the other.  On the one part, heading down through the Cities has more 4-lane and freeway available.  However, you gotta get down to Motley to get to it...by which time you could be most of the way to Duluth.  Both I-94 and I-694 are being worked on in the Metro (694 is single-lane through Oakdale), while going the other way, there's roadwork on I-35 in Duluth.

yeah...i figure theyd take about the same amount of time in pristine conditions...i was looking for kickers such as construction...especially in The Cities considering ill be getting to Maple Grove at around 6AM if i decide to go that direction...and i already have my way bypassing the mess in Duluth by crossing into WI on the Oliver bridge and connecting over to 53 south of Superior...and im very familiar with the way to the cities...but very rarely have i traveled to Duluth from Bemidji for some reason...but knowing that there is work being done on 694...i think that might be what forces me to just head across and down...thanks Frog-E

[NWI_Irish96]

It's been a while since I've been to Chicago, but my rule of thumb was that unless I was passing through between 6-10am or 3-7pm, I'd just drive straight through the middle of the city because traffic on the Kennedy/Dan Ryan usually isn't too bad.

[rawmustard]

2nd- Chicago...ugh...im always second guessing which way to approach and get through the metro. Is there construction on the Jane Addams (I-90)? Is 90<290<294 still my best bet? Or should i do 39<88<355<80? I should be in Rockford around late morning if that makes a difference.

Coming in on I-90 is probably your best bet, as much of the work around Rockford was finished last year. If you were thinking of taking 39 to 88, you may as well go all the way down to I-80, since I don't think there's any time saved going I-88 to I-355. And if you're going to hit Chicago about midday, there's probably no big advantage of using the Tri-State over driving through the Loop. If you're willing to pay the toll, the Skyway provides a quick exit to Chi-town.

3rd- The Ohio Portion: I HATE the turnpike...but am usually heading to Elyria so it was always a givin id have to suck it up and get through it, but being that i'm heading to Massilon this time gives me other options. Would it really cost me a ton of time to avoid the Ohio portion of hell and head down to Fort Wayne and over on 30? Or even turn south @ I-75 and follow 15/23 south to Upper Sandusky?...If not I'd much rather take any alternative to the "pike"...but if that would cause me to lose a significant amount of time then i'd just brave the speed traps and boredom.

It shouldn't cost you much time since 30 is at least expressway from east of Fort Wayne to I-71, and there isn't a signal in that stretch. It's a very nice alternative to the Ohio Turnpike in any event.

[mightyace]

^^^

Back when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s, we'd take 30 from Mansfield to I-65 near Gary.  Our main reason would be that we'd stay at one of my dad's aunts in Ada, Ohio.  But, I remember that with a fair amount of 30 in Ohio still two lane back then, we still made good time.  The main bottlenecks were Crestline, Upper Sandusky and, of course, Fort Wayne which have all been bypassed.

So, with it being expressway all the way, I think it's a valid alternative.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

US 30 is 4 lanes from Joliet all the way to the east of Canton. Other than for a minor speed trap for Dalton (Speed limit 50), should be only 4 traffic lights between Ft. Wayne and Massilon (two in Indiana, two between Wooster and Massillon)