Is the Skyway still there? I remember when I approached it as a younger driver it was quite daunting. It seemed to rise up like a roller coaster and it was a giddy feeling driving over the hump. I haven’t been to Chicago in a long time but I don’t remember the Skyway from the last trips I took. Maybe the Interstate route from Ohio going north to Wisconsin has changed?
Yes, the Skyway is privately owned, and it’s over $7 a pop to traverse it. There is a lot less traffic because of the prohibitive cost, so people who can afford it treat themselves to the luxury.
When travelling from Wisconsin to Indiana or other points east, I love to take the Skyway route, IF the downtown Chicago traffic (Edens, Kennedy, then down the Dan Ryan) permits. It’s a LOT shorter than taking I-294 around the city, and a lot more interesting. The toll cost is about the same either way, and the I-Pass is recognized on the Skyway.
The McDonald’s is gone.
Some of the tall concrete commodity silo structures along the lake are gone.
The Robert Taylor housing project highrise blocks to the east are gone.
Gary’s overpowering industrial stench is greatly reduced.
All the billboard ads are for personal injury attorneys, casinos, cannabis dispensaries. Until you get to the Tristate when they change to Hair Restore and casinos.
A lot of Jesus Saves type billboards and Trumpy ones too as I recall from a few months ago. On the Indiana side in case that wasn’t clear.
As Qadgop says, the Tri-State (I-294) is what a lot of people use if they’re coming from the east, and aren’t intending to go to Chicago itself. It is a longer route, but as it doesn’t go through downtown (which I-90, which includes the Skyway, does), 294 can be less less traffic-choked than the routes which go through the center of the city (depending on time of day, and road construction).