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A group of us are looking for the quickest way to the Dallas area this spring break. On the drive down we don't plan on stopping to see anything on the way, only taking necessary stops. In planning the route, there seems to be two pretty equal ways only differing by a few miles. Not having any experience with this part of the country, I was wondering if anyone could offer a suggestion on which to take.
Route 1
Route 2
Thank you for your help!
Dan
Greetings, Dan, and welcome to the forums!
I couldn't open up either of your links. They kept timing out. So I can't comment on what you've come up with.
If you're simply looking to do a speed run, I suppose the main thing you'd want to consider are what kind of traffic conditions the two routes have. You might want to consider what kind of metro areas you might be going through and make sure you time it so you don't get there during rush hours.
And if you need advice for a good, safe speed run, check out this article.
I'll try to give more advice once I know what routes you're considering.
As you've obviously figured out, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the two routes.
Judy is right in the sense that your biggest problems in a speed run like this is getting stuck in city traffic.
Because of that, I think I would lean towards the Rockford, St. Louis, OK City route. You might hit a few problems in St. Louis, but I wouldn't see too many other problems this way. The downside is that it does have more tolls, including a brief stretch in Illinois and a large part of the drive in Oklahoma, and it might have a little more overall traffic as it follows the basic path of Route 66, and still gets a lot of California-Bound Traffic.
The other route (Chicago, West of Memphis, Little Rock) wouldn't have as much traffic except for Chicago, and wouldn't have any other toll sections outside of Chicago. However, Chicago traffic, as you probably know, can be a nightmare, even if you avoid the downtown area. Because of that, I personally would likely take the other route.
Thanks Michael, we might just end up going there one way and taking the other back.
The two routes you've mapped are about 1060 miles (Route 1) and 1095 miles (route 2). One goes through Chicago and the other goes through St. Louis. Both have toll portions. Consider this alternative. I-43 to I-39 to I-74 east then I-57 etc. as in your Route 1. This is only a bit longer at 1115 miles, but there are no tolls and the only large city on the route is Little Rock Arkansas.
AZBuck