how much traffic on i 290?

hi,

would like to stay in the suburbs during a tradefair i have to attend soon. the main route would include about 13 miles of interstate 290 into the city to mccormick each day.

will i face traffic for hours or is this a rather easy ride?

thanks a lot!

mike

how much traffic on i 290?

You don%26#39;t tell us whereabouts along I-290 you%26#39;ll be staying, so it%26#39;s a bit tought to respond on-point. That having been said, weekday traffic will likely be bumper-to-bumper 6:30 a.m. %26gt; 9 a.m. and then again 4 p.m. %26gt; 7 p.m. on much of the highway. Other hours will be moderately heavy, but moving along at the speed limit. Weekend traffic is typically lighter, but it can back-up for seemingly unexplainable reasons.

how much traffic on i 290?

Keep in mind that there%26#39;s a major construction project on the Dan Ryan expressway beginning next week. I suspect that some of that traffic will back up into the I 290 near downtown.

If you plan on driving to/from McCormick Place each day, I would allow extra time then whatever Mapquest or other website tells you. In addition, you might want to consider continuing on I 290 east through downgtown. It will become Congress Parkway. Take Congress to Columbus (first street east of Michigan Ave). Turn right (south) on Columbus. It will take you in to Lake Shore Drive. You%26#39;ll see McCormick Place.

Any particlar reason you%26#39;re staying in the suburbs to attend a show at McCormick Place?

Construction on the Dan Ryan, from what I read of it, is nowhere near I-290. I doubt any back-ups will occur on that highway. That%26#39;s an apples-to-oranges comparison, IMO. Relax.

13 miles out from downtown Chicago will put you around Hillside. Is that where you plan to stay? In the morning, until about 10-11 am the traffic is slow from Hillside to Austin. After Austin, the traffic is less congested and the drive a little quicker. I would anticipate the drive from Hillside to McCormick to take about 30-45 mins in the morning. It%26#39;s an easy drive just a little slow because of the morning rush.

On the way back out you can expect congestion from Austin out to Hillside which starts around 2-3pm.

Of course everything will be worst if there is an accident along the way which sometimes happens, but rarely.

Just a tip, inbound I would stay in the far left lane after Mannheim road - the flow is better. And outbound in the afternoon, stay in the middle lane before you reach Austin - the left sided exit ramps at Austin and Harlem slows the far left lane and after Austin, the right sided exit ramps slows everything down on right side as well.

Of course you can avoid all this if you stay in a hotel in the city.

I guarantee you that the ramp from the eastbound Eisenhower (I290)to the southbound Dan Ryan (I90) will be backed up big time 24/7 starting Friday night.

290 always seems to be backed up and yes it will be affected by the Dan Ryan

dear fellow users,

thank you very much for this feedback. i would never have expected it so quickly and so detailed and i can%26#39;t thank you enough for your kindness!

i will spend about a week in may and attend the organic expo. i%26#39;m on a budget and can%26#39;t really afford the quality hotel prices downtown...

i would rather spend some time on the road and stay in a good place than staying in a place i ';could'; afford in the city.

so i was planning to use the hillside holiday inn. however i was advised that that would not be a good idea in a major u.s. town due to hours i would need to spend in traffic.

so, i can learn from the entries that if i plan with 1,5 hours for the ride from hillside to mccormick i will most probably be ok, right, unless there is roadwork?

thank you very much -

mike

The ride between Hillside and Downtown is typically 30-45 minutes in rush hour traffic. When there%26#39;s light traffic it%26#39;s a 30 minute or less trip. The hotel is adjacent to (alomst on top of) the busy expressway - not a place I would choose to stay if I had other options.

An option you might want to consider is staying at the comparable - really nicer - Carleton Hotel in Downtown Oak Park (the first suburb W. of Chicago and between Chicago and Hillside) where the room rates in the motel section (vs. the nice older hotel section) are comparable to the Hillside Holiday Inn.

The difference between the two locations is night and day - with Hillside being the dark night.

Here%26#39;s the website address for the Carleton:

http://www.carletonhotel.com/

Mike,

The question is - how much is your time worth? Plus there%26#39;s the added expense of renting a car and paying for parking at McCormick Place (not cheap).

You don%26#39;t need a car to stay in Chicago. You can get to/from McCormick Place via train or taxi from downtown.

You can get to/from downtown via CTA train from either O%26#39;Hare or Midway airport.

Not much to see if you%26#39;re staying in Hillside. There are several cemeteries nearby.

You might want to consider bidding on a hotel room downtown using either Hotwire or Priceline. Bargains can be found. What are your exact dates?

I am writing this response because I want to get this message out to as many people as possible. We just returned form Chicago. We spent one miserable night at the Holiday Inn Hillside. It sits right on a landfill. The whole hotel filled up with a awful, strong, sickening smell of garbage and methane gas. Stay away!! Unbelievable!!!

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