Is it safe to drive thru CHICAGO ON I 94?

Question

or is it a total rat race? I would be coming from

the twin cities....would like to know if i could easily (although

I admit, I know chicago will have congestion)

get thru on I 94 ...?

maybe I should by pass chicago?

Answer 1

Depends on the time of day. Don't do it from 8-11 or 330 to 7. If there's an alternate route take it.

Answer 2

Wish you had a fun trip!

Answer 3

Coming from the Twin Cities, take I-90 south out of Madison.  Do not take I-94.  I-90 is way faster and more direct than I-94 through Milwaukee.  When you get to the Illinois/Wisconsin State line, tune to AM 780, a news/talk station out of Chicago.  Traffic reports are done every eight minutes.  By the time you get to Elgin, you will know whether or not you should go around Chicago on the Tri State (I-294) or go straight through downtown on I-90.  The time of day makes the choice for you.  If you hit the top of the Kennedy (I-90) by O'Hare Airport any time before 4AM or after 11PM, take I-90 through the city to the Skyway (I-90) or continue to I-80/294.  Any other hour, take I-90 to I-290 to the Tri State.  If I-290 is a mess (AM 780 will tell you), take I-90 to 294 (near O'Hare) and then go east on 294.

Make sure that you have an IPASS to travel the tollways.  If you do not, your tolls will be at least a dollar (two and a half times what IPASS holders pay.  It adds up quickly!)  With an IPASS the tolls are greatly discounted AND you can use the IPASS lanes, which drive straight through the toll plazas without stopping.  The lines at the plazas for cars without IPASS's are be incredibly bad from 5AM to 11PM.  You can get an IPASS on line from illinoistollway.com.

Any summer you are advised to avoid the whole I-90 corridor from The Dells to Elgin from 3PM until 11PM Fridays, and from 3PM until 11PM on Sunday.  Traffic has been brutal during those times as folks go from Chicago to Wisconsin and return home.  There is construction from the South Beloit Toll Plaza to Rockford on I-90 as the road is widened to 3 lanes in each direction.  

Finally, check illinoistollway.com before leaving home for updates on the tollroads.  It is about 5 hours from the Twin Cities to the Illinois/Wisconsin line, so much can change in that time.

Hope this helps.  

Answer 4

The Dan Ryan leg of 90/94 on the south end of the city was recently renovated and traffic has dramatically improved.  

The Kennedy lef of 90/94 on the north end of the city still sucks, especially near O'Hare.

On either end of the city you're going to run into Chicago drivers who don't use their turn signals very often and like to drive as fast as traffic will let them go.  I suppose if you stay in the right lane and keep up with traffic it's no big deal.  But basically from 8am-7pm traffic is going to be a little rough...especially on the north side.