I ask this question periodically…never have found a website to get good info.
We’ll be headed from Michigan to Wisconsin just northeast of the Dells.
We could go thru Milwaukee and the Oshkosh area … or thru Rockford and the Madison area.
It’s a tossup except for the issue of traffic congestion … any advice ???
You can use this site to get live traffic information (along with construction info) for most of the routes you’re talking about. (The map starts centered on Chicago, but you can drag & pan it up to Milwaukee & Madison.)
If you don’t actually need to be in Chicago proper, I’d personally recommend the Rockford option: I-80–I-355–I-88–I-39 would route you around the city altogether. Depending on the day of the week and time of day you’ll be driving through, you might even cut I-355 and I-88 out of it and just take I-80 to I-39. Unfortunately, though, there’s no way to avoid the Indiana bottleneck short of taking the ferry.
Agreed…that route is probably a bit more direct, and it’s Interstate the whole way to the Dells. The other route the OP posts (through Milwaukee and Oshkosh) is U.S. 41 north of Milwaukee, then even smaller state highways once you get to Oshkosh (not sure of his or her exact destination). Plus, while it’s going to nearly be impossible to avoid some construction, the Milwaukee route would put you through the reconstruction of I-94 (from the IL/WI state line to Mitchell Airport south of Milwaukee), as well as a project on U.S. 41 around Oshkosh.
I’d head to Ludington, Michigan and take the S. S. Badger across Lake Michigan. It’s a great ride, and the last coal-fired vessel on the Great Lakes. I hate driving in Chicagoland.
I’d love to do that sometime…but, looking at their web site, it ain’t cheap. 2 adults and a passenger car would be $341 for passage both ways.
That, and there’s no quick way to get from Manitowoc to the Dells.
And, there’s no easy way to go the Milwaukee route without going through Chicago traffic. Either I-94 or 894 WILL be slow. Although we have timed trips so as to hit Chicago at night, and then it’s not so bad.
Hey, that might help with your trip back: leave early (like by 4!), and get through Chicago before morning rush hour. We used to buckle up our (then)little kids. still in their jammies, and leave before dawn. It was a great feeling, breezing through Chicago as it was waking up.
If it were me, I would take 80 to 39. That way you avoid Chicago almost entirely. Madison doesn’t have enough traffic to make it worth going around. If you happen to hit 355 at an off peak time, then I’d head up 355 to 88, as MikeS recommended. A little shorter, and traffic isn’t usually too bad that far out of the city.
I can’t figure out any logical route that would take you through Oshkosh. That’s way out of your way unless you’re coming on the northerly route through the UP.
And, 90/94/39 skirt the eastern edge of the city. I’ve occasionally experienced a bit of traffic where the Beltline crosses 90 (at the far southeastern tip of the city), and some with the interchange with 94, but really never anything more than a tap of the brakes, unless there’s road construction.
That said, if you’re heading up that way this time of year, know that the Dells are a popular vacation / weekend destination for families from the Chicago area, which means quite a bit of traffic on Friday afternoons / evenings going north, and Sunday afternoons / evenings coming back south.
I find the Google Maps “live traffic” function very useful. It covers a lot of lesser roads so if you’re trying to optimize non-highway routes it’s great. I like to find out, for instance, if a particular highway ramp is at a standstill. You can’t usually get that from the radio reports.
So if you have enough lead time to check the usual traffic sitch at the actual times of day you will be traveling, it may help you. Be aware that setting the time and day option in the map function itself just gives you general highway historical trends only and doesn’t include the lesser roads at all.