Going to Northern Indiana tomorrow

[wriddle082]

My work is sending me to work in the Northern Indiana area tomorrow.  Flying from Columbia, SC to Indianapolis tomorrow evening, then renting a minivan and driving all the way up to Warsaw, IN where I have a room booked.

Anybody know the best way to get from Indy to Warsaw?  Would I be best taking 69 to Ft. Wayne then 30 west?  Or should I go 31 north to 24 east to IN 115 and IN 15 north?

It's been a few years since I've been in that neck of the woods, but I know that 31 can be kinda slowish around Kokomo.  I'll be doing this drive at night in an unfamiliar vehicle without deer whistles on it like my truck has.  Should I be aware of deer up that far north?

Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks!

[Stratuscaster]

Yes, you should be aware of deer, regardless of the route.

I-69/US-30 looks like it goes way out of the way, but really only seems to add about a half-hour to the trip over taking IN-37/IN-13 or US-31/US-24/IN-15.

At night and with the unfamiliar vehicle, I think I'd stick to I-69/US-30.

[Alps]

Google suggests IN 37-13-15, which would certainly avoid your issues with 31 but seems to go through a couple of small cities that you might rather avoid. Staying on I-69 to SR 13 may help, but you're still stuck going through Wabash. All in all may be better sticking with 31.

[wriddle082]

I'm leaning towards US 31, but yeah it's a tough call.  The only time I ever went that way was early on a Saturday morning when I went to the Michiana meet a few years ago from a hotel in Indy.  Getting through Kokomo was a breeze, and it might be pretty good around the 10 PM timeframe when I'm likely going to be passing through there.

I know I'm supposed to report to Warsaw on Thursday morning, then probably get sent elsewhere.  Will know more either tomorrow or Thursday, and will probably ask more questions.

Thanks!

[mukade]

US 31 to US 30 is the route I would suggest even though it is a little longer. Second choice is US 31 north to US 24 to SR 115 to SR 15 because of deer and slowness through the Silver Lake area. If it is still light when you return, check out the new US 31 freeway half a mile or so east of existing US 31 from Howard County CR 200N to SR 26 (CR 400S). Taking US 31, you'll also see the SR 38 interchange near Westfield being built - NOTE: that area can also be backed up!

Getting through Kokomo would normally be easy at 10pm, but they are doing resurfacing at night. It depends on whether or not that paving work is done as to how fast it might be.

[ysuindy]

We came back from Notre Dame a few weeks ago through Warsaw and Wabash after spending the night in Elkhart.  I woud echo the suggestions above of 31 and 30 travelling at night.  Coming from IND heading to 69 takes you too far East.  I can't see any real backups at that time of the night - will be down to one lane each way at the 31-38 interchange but other than repaving mukade mentions we didn't see anything else on our way up to ND.

http://www.us31hamiltoncounty.in.gov/

[NWI_Irish96]

Make the drive from Indy to various parts of Northern Indiana all the time.  Best route from Indy airport is I-465 north and then east to I-69 north to IN13 north to IN15 north to Warsaw.  The only sizable towns you have to go through are Elwood and Wabash.

[mobilene]

I'd take 31 to 30 any day of the week if I were going to Warsaw from Indy.  No contest.  -Jim

[mgk920]

Howabout US 31 -> IN 110 -> IN 25 -> Warsaw?  Yes, Indiana is not known for the best roads and their less major highways could be like county highways in other states, but it is a simple route and only goes through one small town (Mentone, IN).

As for deer, you'll have to look out for them whichever way you go.  Studies up here in Wisconsin have showed 'deer whistles' to be ineffective.  Best is to keep the high-beams on (unless you are staring at another car at fairly close range), don't drive bat-out-of-you-know-where fast, keep alert and use the horn freely to clear them out of the way if you have to.  The 'class' of road means nothing to deer - there was a very bad multi-fatal crash (7 fatals) that started with a deer collision on the Indiana Toll Road (I-80/90) a couple of weeks ago.

Mike

[Rushmeister]

I'd take 31 to 30 any day of the week if I were going to Warsaw from Indy.  No contest.  -Jim

I agree with mobilene (and mukade, too) all the way -- especially since it's a night trip.  Ind 25 north of Rochester to Ind 110/331 should be avoided for a nighttime transit.  It is curvy, narrow, and there are many deer. 

For a daytime trip, Ind 110 to Ind 25 would be okay, but I'll bet your lodging is on the north side of Warsaw, so there's probably nothing gained by making an entrance to Warsaw from the south.  (Regarding your other northern Indiana travels:  Watch out for buggies -- even on state highways (2-lane ones, I should add).)

[hobsini2]

I'd take 31 to 30 any day of the week if I were going to Warsaw from Indy.  No contest.  -Jim

I agree with mobilene (and mukade, too) all the way -- especially since it's a night trip.  Ind 25 north of Rochester to Ind 110/331 should be avoided for a nighttime transit.  It is curvy, narrow, and there are many deer. 

For a daytime trip, Ind 110 to Ind 25 would be okay, but I'll bet your lodging is on the north side of Warsaw, so there's probably nothing gained by making an entrance to Warsaw from the south.  (Regarding your other northern Indiana travels:  Watch out for buggies -- even on state highways (2-lane ones, I should add).)

I concur with the others about the deer and the Amish buggies.  I frequently drive on US 20 east of Elkhart and the buggies are out there for 50 miles. I am sure there are other colonies close to Warsaw. The deer have no fear of running across the Indiana Toll Road so a small 2 lane road is nothing to them. I nearly hit 3 on the Toll Road about 5 years ago west of South Bend at 3 in the morning.

[wriddle082]

Got to Warsaw late last night, decided to just go with the Garmin, it took me I-69 -> IN 5 - US 30.  Huntington and South Whitley were the only towns of consequence, and it was so late that they were not problematic at all.

I almost ran over a raccoon somewhere before South Whitley, which was a little scary since I had just declined all rental car insurance add-ons because my company would "take care of it" since I put it on my company credit card.

Anyway, did quite a bit of work driving today, starting at Warsaw going up to LaGrange, then down to Corunna and then Avilla.  CenturyLink has just taken over all of the old Embarq territory in that neck of the woods and they need some equipment installed right away, which is why I'm up here.  Garmin took me on all sorts of crazy backroads to try to zig-zag my way through a lot of the one-mile-interval-numbered county roads.  I was pleasantly surprised at all the small lakes in this part of the world.  And saw a ton of Amish buggies as others have mentioned.  Even noticed long stretches of road where you would see the plain-looking Amish homes and barns, but absolutely no aerial power lines or phone lines connecting them to the "grid" the rest of us are on.  They all had propane tanks, and I'm not dismissing the theory that the lines are buried to "protect the scenery", but I'm just not used to seeing that way of life in abundance so it's pretty amazing to me.