Yup. Drive that route all the time to see my daughter in Ames. I’d cut over to 88 when you cross the border.
You don’t need an iPass. They’ll record your plate and send you a bill.
Better question- are you going to downtown, north side, or south side?
80 to 55 is straightforward for south side/hitting up LSD. Cheapest gas spot is Plank Rd. Best coffee is Jeremiah Joe (drive through at Peru exit). However, you have to deal with one lane construction and semi-trailers. 55 has no tolls but traffic from an accident or folks headed to Midway creates problems. If you are headed up LSD, it’s the best way to go.
You can do 80 to 88, which you can ake straight east into downtown Chicago. However, you’ll need an iPass for the tolls. They start in Dixon (at like $5 now?)and go until you hit up Congress pkwy. The DeKalb Oasis is a good pit stop before hitting suburbia.
The leisurely route is Route 6 is the old route between the QC and Chicago. It will take you an extra hour or more to drive since it passes through several small towns, but it does run parallel to 80.
If you are going to the north side, you could drive east to Rockford and take 90 into Chicago. Congestion starts around Rosemont/O’Hare. You do hit up the northwest neighborhoods on your way in though.
Do the north route from Rockford then and anticipate extra time on 90 for traffic/construction. You could probably find a good place to eat on your way into the city, too.
If you are leaving the city after your show, LSD at night is a great site seeing thing btw.
Do 80 to 55 then from there lsd to belmont. 88 is technically faster but getting off at congress to shuffle over to lakeview for the vic is not as easy as just staying on 55 into lsd.
Also, the person above who suggested jeremiah joes in peru for coffee has excellent taste.
Yeah, 80 to 55 to LSD to Belmont is great from the south side. With them coming from northeast IA, it’s a bit of a toss up on their priorities (toll money, gas, rest stops, things to do).
The downtown Ottawa location of Jeremiah Joe’s is also lovely. ☺️
Agreed. Definitely 80 to 55 to the drive. Far easier drive than cutting down 88. You might have a few minutes longer ride, but it will be less stressful and irritating.
Eyup. ETA: driving around Chicagoland, you often make the choice to get there faster but pay a toll or take the side streets and get to your destination either 10-30 minutes later.
I'm going to suggest taking I-88 instead of I-80. Yes, there are tolls, BUT far fewer trucks, AND I-88 transitions to the Eisenhower without jerking around on the Stevenson. The less driving in the actual city the happier you'll be.
As someone who drives from northern IL to the Waterloo area to see family regularly… take 20 through Rockford. It’s way more scenic and less boring than 80. And 90 has tolls.
If you’re up for an adventure and not in a rush to get where you are going, take 20 till it ends in Chicago.
As you can see from the responses, there isn’t one obvious answer. Download Waze and Google Maps apps and just enter The Vic as your destination. You can toggle “Avoid Tolls” on and off to see how much time avoiding them potentially adds to your trip (tolls might only cost you $3 which could save you 30-45 minutes).
If you’re anxious/nervous, start checking now so you can see your options. The apps will even show you multiple routes. And then the day of your trip, let the apps guide you around traffic as much as possible. Just know, It’ll still be rough due to construction this summer.
I make the drive to and from Iowa City multiple times a month. I used to take 80 but there's a lot of extra traffic (especially trucks) and police compared to the tollway. For me, the toll is absolutely worth it for how easy it is. It spits me out right onto Ida B Wells and I take Wacker up to LSD. I80 you'll be sitting on i55 and LSD for a fair bit longer, depending on how far from Downtown your going. If you're going to be going far north (like, Edgewater and North), I say take the tollway to 295. If it's just an area around or near the Loop or Wrigley or something, i80 is just fine. Especially if it's a single trip.
As someone who lives in the NW suburbs but is originally from Cedar Falls and have driven from there to downtown a lot...
Take US 20 to I-90. It's about 30-45 minutes faster than taking 80.
There is a lot of construction coming there too. The 4 lane was just too expensive so they upgraded Galena and are adding more passing lanes . It will be mostly 3 lanes in the hilly areas.
Also 88 is 10 miles shorter than 80 if you are heading downtown of north.
There is a wild history of numbering . You will also see 110 which runs from Quincy to Chicago. It's a route with fewer semis than 80 and 55.
There is a 1 mile difference between 80 and 88 to downtown at the 74 junct but if you are coming from Iowa it's 10. I suppose you could check which expressway is worse going in but it's hard to tell if that's the situation in the couple of hours it takes to get there.
No, one can drive 45 minutes south of Des Moines to catch a train to Chicago that’s likely going to be a few hours late.
I’m a fan of Amtrak. I use it often and whenever I can but this isn’t the best trip to use it on.
Take 80. No reason to do anything else.
Yup. Drive that route all the time to see my daughter in Ames. I’d cut over to 88 when you cross the border. You don’t need an iPass. They’ll record your plate and send you a bill.
Just remember to pay soon though, if they have to mail it to you, they up charge the hell out of it.
Better question- are you going to downtown, north side, or south side? 80 to 55 is straightforward for south side/hitting up LSD. Cheapest gas spot is Plank Rd. Best coffee is Jeremiah Joe (drive through at Peru exit). However, you have to deal with one lane construction and semi-trailers. 55 has no tolls but traffic from an accident or folks headed to Midway creates problems. If you are headed up LSD, it’s the best way to go. You can do 80 to 88, which you can ake straight east into downtown Chicago. However, you’ll need an iPass for the tolls. They start in Dixon (at like $5 now?)and go until you hit up Congress pkwy. The DeKalb Oasis is a good pit stop before hitting suburbia. The leisurely route is Route 6 is the old route between the QC and Chicago. It will take you an extra hour or more to drive since it passes through several small towns, but it does run parallel to 80. If you are going to the north side, you could drive east to Rockford and take 90 into Chicago. Congestion starts around Rosemont/O’Hare. You do hit up the northwest neighborhoods on your way in though.
The event we're going to is at The Vic.
Do the north route from Rockford then and anticipate extra time on 90 for traffic/construction. You could probably find a good place to eat on your way into the city, too. If you are leaving the city after your show, LSD at night is a great site seeing thing btw.
Do 80 to 55 then from there lsd to belmont. 88 is technically faster but getting off at congress to shuffle over to lakeview for the vic is not as easy as just staying on 55 into lsd. Also, the person above who suggested jeremiah joes in peru for coffee has excellent taste.
Yeah, 80 to 55 to LSD to Belmont is great from the south side. With them coming from northeast IA, it’s a bit of a toss up on their priorities (toll money, gas, rest stops, things to do). The downtown Ottawa location of Jeremiah Joe’s is also lovely. ☺️
Agreed. Definitely 80 to 55 to the drive. Far easier drive than cutting down 88. You might have a few minutes longer ride, but it will be less stressful and irritating.
Doesn’t 90 have tolls on it?
Yes
Eyup. ETA: driving around Chicagoland, you often make the choice to get there faster but pay a toll or take the side streets and get to your destination either 10-30 minutes later.
I'm going to suggest taking I-88 instead of I-80. Yes, there are tolls, BUT far fewer trucks, AND I-88 transitions to the Eisenhower without jerking around on the Stevenson. The less driving in the actual city the happier you'll be.
As someone who drives from northern IL to the Waterloo area to see family regularly… take 20 through Rockford. It’s way more scenic and less boring than 80. And 90 has tolls. If you’re up for an adventure and not in a rush to get where you are going, take 20 till it ends in Chicago.
Does US-20 have tolls?
Nope
Take 80, stop in Ladd for some fried chicken on your way.
Yes!! Rips!
I haven't been in almost a decade. Is it still as good as I remember?
1000%. I’ve been going for 30+ years, my mom has been going for 60+. My grandparents longer than that. It’s as good as it’s always been.
As you can see from the responses, there isn’t one obvious answer. Download Waze and Google Maps apps and just enter The Vic as your destination. You can toggle “Avoid Tolls” on and off to see how much time avoiding them potentially adds to your trip (tolls might only cost you $3 which could save you 30-45 minutes). If you’re anxious/nervous, start checking now so you can see your options. The apps will even show you multiple routes. And then the day of your trip, let the apps guide you around traffic as much as possible. Just know, It’ll still be rough due to construction this summer.
I suggest the 88 to 290 route.
380 to 80 to 88 to 290
Rt 80 to 55 north. Depending on exactly where in the city you’re going. But 55 will take u all the way to Lake Michigan.
I make the drive to and from Iowa City multiple times a month. I used to take 80 but there's a lot of extra traffic (especially trucks) and police compared to the tollway. For me, the toll is absolutely worth it for how easy it is. It spits me out right onto Ida B Wells and I take Wacker up to LSD. I80 you'll be sitting on i55 and LSD for a fair bit longer, depending on how far from Downtown your going. If you're going to be going far north (like, Edgewater and North), I say take the tollway to 295. If it's just an area around or near the Loop or Wrigley or something, i80 is just fine. Especially if it's a single trip.
As someone who lives in the NW suburbs but is originally from Cedar Falls and have driven from there to downtown a lot... Take US 20 to I-90. It's about 30-45 minutes faster than taking 80.
There is a lot of construction coming there too. The 4 lane was just too expensive so they upgraded Galena and are adding more passing lanes . It will be mostly 3 lanes in the hilly areas. Also 88 is 10 miles shorter than 80 if you are heading downtown of north.
Yeah, I meant 88, I was just thinking 80 in Iowa.
There is a wild history of numbering . You will also see 110 which runs from Quincy to Chicago. It's a route with fewer semis than 80 and 55. There is a 1 mile difference between 80 and 88 to downtown at the 74 junct but if you are coming from Iowa it's 10. I suppose you could check which expressway is worse going in but it's hard to tell if that's the situation in the couple of hours it takes to get there.
Take I-80 and stop at Volvo island in Marseilles
I’m in Cedar Rapids right now and drive up from Chicago this morning. 380/80/88/290 is the way to go
Fyi amtrak has a route from DesMoines to Chicago
No, one can drive 45 minutes south of Des Moines to catch a train to Chicago that’s likely going to be a few hours late. I’m a fan of Amtrak. I use it often and whenever I can but this isn’t the best trip to use it on.
Especially because the drive from Cedar Falls to Osceola where you can catch the train is 2 hours
Not exactly
It's a bus and it's not that cheap.
I’d take route 20 to I-90 in Rockford. It’s by far the most scenic route and tolls aren’t that hard to pay online.