Chicago to Charlotte, NC at Christmas

I am new to this forum, but I hope some one can be of help and I also hope that I might be able to return the favor in the future. My wife and I normally fly to my parents' house in Charlotte, NC for Christmas, but due to a few big presents, we were hoping to drive, so I have a few questions. With I-40 out of commission, there appears to be a few routes available from Chicago. Any suggestions? Second, driving through the mountains, what are the chances of weather being a large problem? Finally, and this is just an in general question, but what is holiday interstate driving like? How much longer does it usually take? Thanks in advance.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

My choice of an alternative route (weather permitting) would be to head east from Indianapolis on I-70 to Dayton, OH and then use I-75 to connect with US-35 southeast to Charleston, WV. From there, I-77 will take you directly to Charlotte. That route is actually a shade shorter than the normal route, but will take a bit longer due to the stretch on US-35. But both the standard route and this one time out at around a day and a half's worth of driving. There is a fair chance that you might run into bad weather in either the upper Mid-West or Appalachians, but there's no way to predict what you'll see this far in advance. Your best option is to be able to slide your travel days up or back by a day if need be so that you can respond to (i.e. avoid) whatever Mother Nature throws at you. Holiday Interstate driving is like most of the rest of the year, maybe a few more cars, especially around big cities and shopping malls, but except on the weekends and just before and after a holiday, not that much different.

AZBuck

Thanks for the incredibly helpful reply. I'll definitely look into this.

Another option - I have never taken it, but it has been recommended to me - is go to Cincy and take the "AA Highway". Take the southern branch to I-64 into Charleston to pick up I-77. I have taken stretches of Buck's recommended US-35 and unless they have made major improvements, it can get quite nasty south of Chillicothe.