I75 question

[yellownovawife]

we are going to try the I75 from Toronto area to WDW in a few weeks. Someone suggested we go through Sarnia instead of Windsor in order to save time. Anyone have any experience with this? Is Sarnia on the 401? How do we get onto the I75 once crossing over?

 

[A&CsMom]

Hopefully someone has actual experience with this route, but in the meantime, I consulted by 2007 Rand-McNally road atlas, and it appears this is your best route if you take Sarnia.

401, breaking off onto the 402 in the London area. If you MapQuest Toronto to Sarnia, you can probably get exact directions.

Once you cross over, it looks best to take I69 to Flint, MI, where it crosses I75. It looks pretty simple to tell you the truth.

Good luck, drive carefully and have a great vacation!

 

[yellownovawife]

Bumping!

 

[tobidisney]

Found it to be MUCH faster. We went the 90 route ( i think) mapped out through CAA and shaved a good 2 - 3 hours off the trip. Not too sure why so many people stick with 75, if you can read, then the trip ticks are failry simple to follow and we had no problems traveling by car with 2 year old Twins.

 

[baillie]

we drove that route a few years ago (my mom lives in sarnia and we picked her up) I don't know if it's any quicker than the windsor route but it was really easy driving. to get to sarnia, you take the 402 exit off the 401 (it's just past the wellington rd exit in london I believe) the 402 drives you right over the bluewater bridge which turns into the I94

 

[maryliz]

We live at the very south end of London ... 2 minutes off the 401. While we could easily jump on the 402 to Sarnia 5 minutes down the road, we always stick with the 401 to Windsor. It really doesn't save any time. We've actually had much longer waits crossing into the US from Sarnia than from Windsor. My Mom lives at the North end of London, and it's easier for her to go the Sarnia route. Coming from TO, I don't think there's any benefit to getting off the 401. JMHO.

 

[son3disfan]

Yep, I found it to be much LOOOOONGER the Sarnia way, Both , to cross the bridge and on the interstate.We drove through Windsor 4 TIMES and Sarnia once.We left Hamilton at 5:00 pm.
Won't do Sarnia again.

 

[yellownovawife]

Now I am so confused!

 

[GoofyArt]

Now I am so confused!

Personally, I think either route is the same. Each border crossing point can both be slower than the other, depending on the time of year you are crossing and the time of day. There are a lot of subtle difference that affect everyone's individual preferences. Some (like me) don't like the boring flatness of Hwy 401 between London and Windsor, others don't like the busyness of I94 heading into Detroit. I would assume the timing is nearly the same though for both.

I have had really good luck at Sarnia but it isn't always that way - the route just works for me because I happen to like driving 70+ MPH just past the Sarnia crossing and LOVE all the billboard signs along the way.

I wouldn't be too confused over it. You'll be fine either way I'm sure!

If you do decide to cross at Sarnia, just make sure you take I94 and not I69 .

Art

 

[jtdl]

The wait times at the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia are always bad on Monday's and Tuesday's with the transport trucks backed up - so it you're going on those days I'd figure that into the travel time (it's probably the case with Windsor as well). Other than that, the waits aren't too bad anymore. There are separate truck lanes now. I don't know about going Windsor - Detroit, we have only done Sarnia - Detroit, but traffic can get quite heavy going into Detroit at rush hour - 3 pm - 6 pm. Try using expedia maps and getting routes going both ways to a point beyond Detroit. There is a time listed on the route and see which is quicker. The time is usually always longer than in real life, but it will give you an idea if one way is quicker than the other for your route. Also, if you happen to be a member of CAA they can advise you on the quickest route.

 

[yellownovawife]

The wait times at the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia are always bad on Monday's and Tuesday's with the transport trucks backed up - so it you're going on those days I'd figure that into the travel time (it's probably the case with Windsor as well). Other than that, the waits aren't too bad anymore. There are separate truck lanes now. I don't know about going Windsor - Detroit, we have only done Sarnia - Detroit, but traffic can get quite heavy going into Detroit at rush hour - 3 pm - 6 pm. Try using expedia maps and getting routes going both ways to a point beyond Detroit. There is a time listed on the route and see which is quicker. The time is usually always longer than in real life, but it will give you an idea if one way is quicker than the other for your route. Also, if you happen to be a member of CAA they can advise you on the quickest route.

Thanks for all the info. We will be coming through on a Sunday morning on the way there and a Sunday afternoon on the way home. I don't think that traffic will be too much of an issue.

 

[A&CsMom]

GoofyArt, a co-worker is taking I75 at the end of March, and is interested in crossing at Sarnia (the 401 is so boring!). On the map I69 looks good, heading in the right direction instead of "backtracking" to Detroit. I am interested to know why you recommend I94 over I69 (just curious).

 

[jtdl]

GoofyArt, a co-worker is taking I75 at the end of March, and is interested in crossing at Sarnia (the 401 is so boring!). On the map I69 looks good, heading in the right direction instead of "backtracking" to Detroit. I am interested to know why you recommend I94 over I69 (just curious).

We've always gone I-94 and have always followed CAA TripTiks. I-69 heads to Indianapolis, which I would think would be quite a bit longer? I'm not sure but it looks like it to me. I just follow my TripTiks

 

[GoofyArt]

GoofyArt, a co-worker is taking I75 at the end of March, and is interested in crossing at Sarnia (the 401 is so boring!). On the map I69 looks good, heading in the right direction instead of "backtracking" to Detroit. I am interested to know why you recommend I94 over I69 (just curious).

The I69 to I75 route from Sarnia/Port Huron runs through Detroit as well. But it is actually longer than just taking I94... almost double the miles! I highly recommend the I94 route.

Art