Favorite/least favorite freeways in the Midwest - Great Lakes area

[mgk920]

Well, since there is now one of these threads in most of the rest of the AARoads' subforvms, I'll start one here.

Favs:

-US 10 around Waupaca, WI  (a totally SWEET drive!)
-US 41 on Chicago's north lakefront (drool....)
-freeway parts of US 151 SW of Madison, WI (fantastic scenery!)
-I-35 entering Duluth, MN (it's like one is flying into the city and then the tunnels)
-I-39 (interesting, widely-varying scenery and 'feel' the entire way)

Least favs:

-US 151 NE of Madison, WI (BORING drive!)
-I-75 north of Saint Ignace, MI (also BORING as all get go!)
-Madison, WI Beltline (a bodged-together mess)

Mike

[texaskdog]

I can't get bored on I-75 north of Saint Ignace, too much cool stuff on both ends. 

I like I-90 west of Minnesota into South Dakota. 

I-94 west of Minneapolis until you get into Montana is horrendously boring...actually its boring east of Saint Paul in Wisconsin too. 

[NE2]

Lower Wacker.

[OCGuy81]

-I-39 (interesting, widely-varying scenery and 'feel' the entire way)

Agreed on this one.  I actually like the segment north of Wausau as well where it reverts to US 51.  Cool path blazed through northern Wisconsin with forests and lots of lakes.

[rawmustard]

My favorite is US-31 between Muskegon and Ludington–a forested canopy eventually gives way to some rolling dunes. Sadly it's a drive I don't make too often. My least favorite is the Ohio Turnpike west of Toledo. I swear it's the longest 60 miles I've ever driven! I much prefer I-94 to US-23 should I ever need to go through that part of Ohio.

[triplemultiplex]

US 51 between Wausau and Merrill for sure. Even better in the fall.  I also like how on some cold days, the steam rising from the power plant in Rothschild looks like it's coming out of the top of Rib Mountain or Mosinee Hill (depending on your position) from north of Wausau.  Like it's a simmering volcano looming above the city.

I-39 in Illinois is pure boredom and backs up the "flatlander" nickname we have for folks down there; with one exception.  Everything is all boring and flat, then suddenly you drop into this deep, wide valley and cross a super long bridge that provides stupendous views up and down the Illinois River.  But too soon, you're up the other side of the valley back into flatsville, and as the miles of straight road and wide open farmland roll by you could convince yourself you imagined that big river.

My least favorite freeway in these parts has to be I-43 through the north shore suburbs here in Milwaukee.  From Silver Spring Drive to the county line, it's a stupid old relic that should've been expanded and upgraded decades ago.  There are poor sightlines as you dip beneath Good Hope Rd and Greentree Rd.  There's a stretch where the left "shoulder" is: yellow line -> curb -> dirt/mud (depending on recent weather) -> banged up guard rail.  All that in about the width of a vehicle.
Then there's that godawful interchange at Brown Deer Rd with it's death ramp cloverleaf design straight out of the 40's.  Yeah, let's send cars around a 15 MPH curve and then dump them onto the freeway!  What's worse is the damn thing was rebuilt as-is just a year or so ago.  So damn stupid!

[Alps]

Lower Wacker.

Last I saw of it, it's not a freeway. Half of it's delivery driveways, and half of it's an active construction zone that's mostly gravel and dirt.

[MrDisco99]

Last time I was in Chicago I found myself lost on lower Wacker and Michigan with no idea how to get out.  The bums offered to help but I decided I'd figure it out for myself and kept moving.  They need to put up signs or something.

I really like the Kennedy Expressway approaching Chicago.  Amazing view.

[SSOWorld]

My favorites (most that is):
- Kennedy, Ike, LSD and Ryan inbound to Chicago - where else can you have a captivating view from 4 freeways (ok so LSD is not all freeway so whatever )
- Parkway West in Pittsburgh...particularly eastbound just coming out the Fort Pitt Tunnel
- Mac Bridge.
- I-35W NB (Perfect shot of Minneapolis)

I-35W with Downtown Minneapolis by ssoworld, on Flickr

Least favorite?:
- Mike - I am totally opposite regarding I-39.  Flat and boring though Waushara and Portage Counties with only one curve - where the familiar driver (like me - I take this route every time I go up to family in Rhinelander unless I have time for the "scenic route" ).  You don't see much even as you get to the hilly terrain in Marathon and northward or southward toward Portage.  Say nothing about I-39 in Illinois.
- Pretty much sums up any freeway in Illinois or Iowa not near the Mississippi.  OK, Iowa has more hills - but that doesn't say much.
- The Beltline in Madison.  Who designed that substandard piece of shit?

Steve - Lower Wacker could pass for a freeway because it has limited access - but yes you're right - all the deliveries go there and crossroads do exist.  Going to be interesting when they get N/S Wacker completed.

[SEWIGuy]

Another favorite:  I-794 across the Hoan Bridge coming into downtown Milwaukee from the south.

Least favorite:  Any interstate in Illnois and southeast Wisconsin.

[mgk920]

Lower Wacker.

Lower Wacker Drive (first opened in 1917) is not a freeway, it is a surface street.  Now, it is a most handy and fun to drive surface street, but it has intersections and oodles of driveway accesses for servicing the adjacent buildings.  However, IMHO, it served as a model for later urban freeways.

A few more faves:

(in Minnesota)
-MN 280
-US 52 from I-94 to I-494
-MN 77

-I-90, Rochester, MN to I-94 (Tomah, WI)

(In Wisconsin)
-WI 54/57 in Green Bay
-I-794

Unfavs:

-I-94 in Kenosha and Racine Counties (blah...)

Mike

[on_wisconsin]

Top Favorites
Wisconsin:
I-94 in western Dunn County, between Eau Claire & Black River Falls, and near Camp Douglas.
I-90 between the Dresbach Bridge and Tomah
US 53 around Eau Claire
WIS 29 between Wausau and Green Bay

Minnesota:
I-494 between Woodbury and I-35W
I-35 Duluth area
Crosstown Commons

Least Favorites
Wisconsin:
I-39 between Portage and Stevens Point
I-94 between Madison and the Marquette Interchange
Madison Beltline (!)  

Minnesota:
I-90 between Rochester and Worthington
I-35E "Parkway"
I-94 between the Downtowns (Twin Cities)

[Milepost61]

Favorite: I-94 from Woodbury to Eau Claire.  Mixture of suburban and rural and great drive during fall color season, particularly the part west of Menominee as you drop into a valley.

Least Favorite: I-494 west of MSP airport. Too many ramps, too little space.

[InterstateNG]

Favorites:

I-696
Anything in Chicago
I-96 between Brighton and Howell

Least Favorites:

I-94 between Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor
I-275
I-75 between Toledo and Dayton
I-57

[sr641]

Lake shore drive is one of my favorite highways in the midwest.

[kphoger]

I like the Ike heading into Chicago.  Least favorite:  I-94 (a.k.a. U.S. Route 6 in Nevada and Illinois) going east through Hammond and Gary (IN) on a Friday afternoon.  Going west on a Sunday morning, though, is freaking awesome....

[mukade]

- Illinois: the Kennedy southbound, the Ryan northbound, and Illinois 110 eastbound approaching the Loop
- Indiana: I-64 east of US 231
- Michigan: I-196 through downtown Grand Rapids is a cool road (at least it was)
- New York: Lake Ontario Pkwy.
- Ohio: US 35 near Gallipolis in southern Ohio
- Wisconsin: I-90 around LaCrosse

I am curious what I-69 from Bloomington to Crane will look like.

[tdindy88]

The Illinois 110 into the loop...never heard of...oh you mean the Eisenhower. Just kidding, I'm sure you meant that and was just jabbing at the ridculous concept of Illinois 110. As for Indiana, my least favorites would likely be the Borman Expressway and I-69 from Exit 0 to Exit 5 at rush hour, especially now. As for favorites, not really any in the northern half of Indiana, which this board covers. I'd say my favorite freeway-esque highway (using that term very loosely) would be the Keystone Parkway in Carmel. Indiana is not known for making highways look very pretty, but Keystone is a distinct feel for it.

[mukade]

Yeah, sorry about the 110 reference. It was too easy to poke some fun at it.

I have to agree with you on Keystone Pkwy. - I forgot about that.

[triplemultiplex]

I-39 between Portage and Stevens Point

"Watch for Low Flying Aircraft"
The Coloma to Stevens Point segment is the most monotonous.  Makes one think they are back in Illinois.  I-39 is crossing a vast outwash plain in this part of the state.  The soil is almost pure sand, but its flatness makes it super easy to farm in large tracts.

[JREwing78]

Fair warning: some of these are not strictly freeway, but are at least 4-lanes with few private driveway accesses. Hey, everyone else is doing it too.

Favorites:
- I-75 north of Standish, MI to the International Bridge
- US-51 through Wausau and north to Tomahawk, WI
- US-151 between Dubuque, IA and Verona, WI
- US-31 north of Muskegon, MI, and south of Benton Harbor to the Indiana line.
- SR-2 between Port Clinton, OH and Amherst, OH
- US-141 north of Abrams, WI (I wish the 4-lane continued to Crystal Falls, MI)
- US-12 between Madison and Sauk City, WI
- US-50 between Athens, OH and Parkersburg, WV
- US-30 between the Indiana line and Mansfield, OH
- I-80 in Pennsylvania
- Indiana Toll Road east of Valparaiso

Least Favorites:
- US-30 anywhere in Indiana (It's THISCLOSE to being a great alternative to I-80/90, but all the stoplights and the 60mph speed limit are maddening).
- I-75 between Detroit and Cincinatti. If it's not overcrowded, it's rough as a cob, and the scenery is not at all interesting.
- M-14 around the west side of Ann Arbor, thanks to that infernal narrow 3-lane bridge over the Huron River. The stop sign at the EBD entrance/exit of Barton Dr. takes the cake. It was worse with the 55mph speed limit as anyone who dared follow the speed limit got flipped off and honked at.
- I-96 (aside from the Brighton to Howell stretch, which is about the only one that's NOT overcrowded and/or rough as a cob)
- US-23 between Ann Arbor and Brighton (Horribly overcrowded, unsafe design, rough pavement)
- US-41 between Milwaukee and Green Bay. Once they're done with construction, I might change my mind. As it sits now, it's horribly overcrowded and irritating to navigate).
- I-94/US-41 between Milwaukee and the Illinois line (crowded, perpetually under construction)
- Tri-State Tollway (or ANY Illinois toll road)
- I-80 anywhere in Illinois, but particularly through Joliet
- Ohio Turnpike (quality road, but mind-numbingly boring)

[DaBigE]

Jumping on the freeway definition stretch bandwagon... 
Favorites:

• Wis 30, WB from the Badger Interchange to Thompson Dr
• US 151, S of Madison
• Wis 113, Marimac to Baraboo
• US 53, around Eau Claire
• I-94, near the Mississippi crossing & Madison to Waukesha (fall season only)
• I-35, Duluth area
• I-90/94, DeForest to Tomah

Least Favorites:

• US 151, Madison to Fond du Lac
• I-94, Milwaukee to Michigan City, Benton Harbor to Kalamazoo
• US 41, Oshkosh to Neenah
• US 53, Chippewa Falls to Superior
• any/all IDiOT Tollways

[NE2]

You misspelled iSHAT. Ha ha, I made a funny pun.

[hobsini2]

Fav:
IL:
US 41 Lake Shore Dr (SB more than NB) from Hollywood Blvd to the Field Museum.
I-90/94 Kennedy Expy SEB from Edens Jct to Loop.
I-39 NB approaching the Kishwaukee River and both directions at the Illinois River.
I-39/90 NB going through Rock Cut State Park north of Rockford. Neat limestone cuts along the roadway.
I-57 SB from Mt Vernon to Charleston MO. Love the hills/valleys with the Shawnee Forest.
WI:
I-794 Hoan Bridge (both directions)
I-90/94 NWB from Wisconsin Dells to Osseo.
US 151 SWB from Dodgeville to Dubuque IA.

Least fav:
IL:
I-55 SB from south of Braidwood to St Louis.
I-57 SB from Kankakee to Mt Vernon.
I-80 entire length in Illinois except for the steel bridges at Joliet and Moline and going over the Quarry in Hazel Crest. If i have the time, I take US 6 since it is much more scenic.
WI:
I-39/90 from Beloit to Janesville.
I-94 in Kenosha and Racine County.

[kharvey10]

Favorite
I-57 south of Mt. Vernon.  It starts with forest and a large lake, then more forests, and then the big valleys and rock cuts.
I-24 in IL - lots of forests and rock cuts
I-39/90 towards Wisconsin Dells - one of the best places to view fall colors.
I-90/94 in Chicagoland on a clear winter day - the best time to photograph the skyline.  Forget about this in the summer, the haze is just too thick especially when the winds blow in the wrong direction.
I-64 from Dale to Louisville - tons of hills and forests and suddenly you're in Louisville.

Least Favorite
I-57 north of Mt. Vernon.  It gets boring and flat in a hurry.
I-55 from Chicago to St. Louis.  Same as I-57 north of Mt. Vernon.  I went from Downstate to Chicagoland on both routes, I would rather be on I-57 than deal with the congestion on the Stevenson.
I-64 east of Mt. Vernon.  Nothing to see at all.