Drivers in MO, IL, and IN

[OhMickey]

I could use a little help!

At the beginning of summer, I planned a simple trip to WDW..I should know that things are never simple when you have 4 children. I booked flights out of Indy because of the fantastic rate I got through SW. Yeah right?? No..wait.

My youngest daughter plays softball and her team has qualified to go to Nationals which is held in KC. So in order for her to play in the tournament I have a ton of driving to do..

Over the next couple of days I will be driving from central IL to KC. Then from KC to Indy. I would like to get an idea of road conditions/constructions and areas to avoid.

So if any of you have driven on I55, and I70 over the past couple of weeks, your insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

We just returned from a 4-day, 6-state driving tour from Chicago. Our main destinations were Wamego, Kansas outside of Topeka, and Louisville, Kentucky.

The route both MapQuest and GoogleMaps suggested was to head west on I-80/88 to Des Moines, Iowa and then south on 35 through Missouri to I-70 to Kansas. That is what we did, leaving on a Friday morning and arriving that evening. We had no back-ups or detours.

Driving from there to Louisville, our GPS had us routed the south route around St Louis, but it is closed and we were detoured up around the north side of St.L. We went far east out of our way till we hit the detour and had to back track. So I would suggest planning ahead to take the north route to avoid the construction detour.

We had no other issues onward to Louisville and then up I-65 through Indiana to Chicago. We went straight through downtown Indianapolis on I-65 on a Monday evening with no delays.

Hope this helps!

 

[mizzoumom]

Highway 70 from St. Louis to Kansas City isn't bad. It depends on the time of day you hit downtown St. Louis. The traffic seems a bit heavier with Highway 40 closed but it shouldn't be to bad. I live half way between St. Louis and Kansas City. My husband said there is some construction about 30 miles from Kansas City. Hope this helps.

 

[Mommy2SabrinaJeremy]

We just drove from STL to Lake of the Ozarks last weekend so I can tell you there was no construction from STL to our turn off in Kingdom City (central MO). Traffic can be a real bear from STL out thru Wentzville, though if you get stuck in rush hour (about 3pm til 7pm).

Hope this helps!

 

[OhMickey]

Thanks everyone for your help..

I'll be traveling I55, I70, I270.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I 55 near Chicago is hit or miss with construction. Nothing big is going on but there could be some bridge/pot hole repair type stuff going on. I know by my house- south of Chicago, Bolingbrook area- there is construction on an overpass, but only on the weekends.

Be thankful you don't have to go on 294/94!

 

[Microcell]

Hey there and congrats to your daughter!

I live in KC about 8 miles south of 70 and if there is construction outside of the metro it usually isn't bad. I don't know of any in the metro along I 70.. The rush hour here is like 7:30 to 9:00 AM. I would avoid St Louis like the plague during rush hour, it is worse than KC's.

Flights out of Kansas City and St Louis are typically cheap with SW.. have you checked into changing so you don't have to go all the way to Indianapolis? SW is usually pretty good if you find an online deal you can change it all online.

Good luck to your DD and hope you have fun when you are here!

 

[Microcell]

We just returned from a 4-day, 6-state driving tour from Chicago. Our main destinations were Wamego, Kansas outside of Topeka, and Louisville, Kentucky.

The route both MapQuest and GoogleMaps suggested was to head west on I-80/88 to Des Moines, Iowa and then south on 35 through Missouri to I-70 to Kansas. That is what we did, leaving on a Friday morning and arriving that evening. We had no back-ups or detours.

Driving from there to Louisville, our GPS had us routed the south route around St Louis, but it is closed and we were detoured up around the north side of St.L. We went far east out of our way till we hit the detour and had to back track. So I would suggest planning ahead to take the north route to avoid the construction detour.

We had no other issues onward to Louisville and then up I-65 through Indiana to Chicago. We went straight through downtown Indianapolis on I-65 on a Monday evening with no delays.

Hope this helps!

Just an FYI, 35 is having big time construction, like closed and you have to take 435 around it... in the city with the largest footprint in Missouri and like is #5 in the country in square footage, I would not want to mess with going around I35 construction.

 

[NotUrsula]

The major road closure in St. Louis is a total closure of 5 miles of I-64 (aka Highway 40), which runs E-W right through the center of the city. I don't know if you are coming from north or south of St. Louis, so ...

From the north: Off I-55 take I270 westward just south of Alton, IL. This will route you around the St. Louis metro area through the far north suburbs, bringing you back to I-70 a few miles west of the St. Louis airport.

From the south: As you proceed north on I-55 in the southern St. Louis suburbs, take I-270/I-255 westbound. The last exit south of this interchange on I-55 is Butler Hill Road. Once you pass that, stay in the far right lane; it is exit 196B, and it is a long flyover overpass that veers up and over to the left, clearing this very large interchange. Again, stay on I-270 until it joins I-70 west a few miles west of the St. Louis airport. (This is the South beltway route around St. Louis, and it is NOT closed as a PP said. The route that is closed is I-64, the one that goes straight through the center of the city E-W, and which happens to be the most direct route from the west side of St. Louis to Louisville.)

If you are by some chance coming from directly east of St. Louis via I-64, you will want to take another road through the city. Once you have crossed the Mississippi over the Poplar Street Bridge you would want to take I-70 northward from downtown, which will take you around the near north perimeter of the city, past the airport, and continue westbound on I-70.

 

[mom2mikel]

I'm from IL so I thought I could help, but not so good with directions -- I'll leave that up to the others

Just wanted to congratulate your daughter's team and wish them luck!!

 

[wdwfam]

Not sure where you are in Central IL, but another possibility is to take I-72 to Hwy 36 in Northern MO and catch I-35 south into KC. There are a few stretches that are not 4 lane, but there definitely won't be a lot of traffic to slow you down.

 

[OhMickey]

That is the route mapquest gave me. However, everyone I've talked to said to avoid I35. There is a lot of construction and you have to drive straight through the city.

My plan is to take I155S, I55S, I270N, I70W to get to KC.

Then when I leave for Indianapolis I'm taking I70E, I270N, I70E.

I wish the fares for SW in KC were lower. Right now the best I can do is over $200 one way. The $56 one way tickets I bought for Indy at the time sounded like a great deal but that was before the team qualified for nationals.

 

[Disney_Freak56]

I live in KC and not sure which part of town you'll be traveling to, but I-35 North (north of the Missouri river) is under construction -- no detours, but the lanes are quite narrow -- so if that bothers you, just wanted to forewarn you.

Also the speed in Illinois is quite a bit lower than MO and IL. I hate driving through IL just for that reason.

In MO, watch your speed because truckers don't call it "Misery" for nothing.

 

[OhMickey]

Im going to avoid I35. We are staying in Olathe and the games are in Overland Park. How long do you think it will take us to get to the fields?

Also, the speed limit in IL is 65 in low population areas. What is the speed limit in MO and KS?

 

[JB2K]

If you are doing the I-55/I-70 route to K.C., I would make these bypasses in/around St. Louis.

Take I-55/I-70 to an exit just past Collinsville, Illinois, then take I-255 west until it ends (near Wood River, IL). Then, take I-270 South towards St. Louis -- once you get near the suburb of Hazelwood, take MO Highway 370 which will junction to I-70 West just outside of St. Peters, MO.

It's a lot of driving/turning, but it sure beats Poplar Street/Blanchette bridge traffic!