Driving Directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana and Points South and East

The State of Indiana fashions itself as "The Crossroads of America." The Hoosier State is ideally positioned as a collector and conduit of East Coast, Midwest, and Deep South traffic. Certainly, the Chicago connection through Northwest Indiana is one of the more important focal points for Interstate traffic within the state, if not the entire Midwest.

Northwest Indiana is delineated per the Lake Michigan shoreline, Chicago and Illinois border, and the rural farmland between Crown Point and West Lafayette.

The Indiana Toll Road, I-65, 94, and the transcontinental 80-90 all converge at Lake County to carry Rust Belt motorists from Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and Indianapolis into the Windy City. Irrespective of the out-of-state traffic, Northwest Indiana is a viable theatre for residential homes and commercial activity within its very own right. The hub is identified with heavy industry and more affordable costs of living than its Chicago neighbor.

Yes, all motorists should stop and purchase cheap gas in Indiana, before crossing the border into Illinois and getting slapped with ridiculously high gasoline taxes and costs at the pump.

Casual observers will note the fact that the major highways throughout Northwest Indiana and into Southwest Michigan are dominated by Illinois license plates. Meanwhile, the Chicago Skyway toll bridge always accommodates large amounts of Michigan and Indiana drivers.

These noticeable traffic patterns shall serve as the perfect testimony per the idea that Northwest Indiana marks the ideal junction for Chicago commercial and leisure traffic, navigating the Big City, Indiana Dunes, and Michigan Harbor Country terrain.

Personally, I refer to NW Indiana as "New Jersey - Midwest." Although the area features heavy industrial capacity and lies adjacent to the regional cultural capital, traffic congestion is relatively minor, and the place preserves its folksy nature, despite the hideously ugly roadway landscaping.

The purpose of this guide is to provide driving directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana and the requisite points to the south and east of this logistics center. Our directives begin by analyzing the Lake Station and Gary approaches, and close by instructing motorists to enter Chicagoland from the proper angle to save time, money, and confusion.

Driving Directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana and Points East: Lake Station Junction (I-80 / 90 Indiana Toll Road, I-80 / 94 Frank Borman Expressway, I-94)

The Lake Station junction is a complete funhouse.

For the sake of simplicity, we will begin at the I-80 / 90 Indiana Toll Road heading west towards Chicago. Although, the Toll Road carries the 80-90 shields, the Indiana banner is far less pronounced at the junctions and requisite signage than the enormous Pennsylvania Turnpike, or distinct New Jersey Turnpike emblems. The Toll Road does feature elongated lane striping, which is often synonymous with tolled highways.

I-80 / 90 carries a ticket distribution system where motorists receive a ticket at the entry and pay fees according to the distance traveled from the Indiana border to the Potage tollbooths prior to the Lake Station interchange. Drivers will then pay flat-rate tolls at each Toll Road exit and Skyway transition between Lake Station and the Illinois border.

Expect to pay $1.75 from Gary to Chicago for use of the Toll Road.

Indeed, the 80-90 Toll Road collects traffic from South Bend, Toledo, Cleveland, and the Eastern Seaboard into NW Indiana. Motorists must pay $8 in cash to cross the Hoosier State per the 157-mile road.

I am advising that City of Chicago motorists ignore I-80 / 94 West signs at Lake Station and continue straight ahead per I-90 West and Chicago. 94 enters the City at a right angle from the South Suburbs via The Bishop Ford - Dan Ryan, and is completely useless for Chicago drivers entering the city limits from Indiana. Chicago area veterans will recognize that The 80-94 Borman, Bishop Ford, and Dan Ryan are harrowing bottlenecks of congestion that should be avoided at all costs.

Meanwhile, The Toll Road is relatively lightly trafficked throughout Indiana into The Chicago Skyway, which serves as a direct cutoff into downtown via The Ryan or Stony Island Avenue to U.S. 41 - Lake Shore Drive.

Suburbanites and O'Hare traffic will exit the Toll Road at I-80 West and look for the I-294 / Tri-State Tollway across the Illinois border. 80 provides direct access to Lansing, Tinley Park, and Joliet; while 294 is a circumferential belt around Chicago and facilitates traffic flow into the West Suburbs and O'Hare per skirting notorious inner-city expressway stop-and-go.

Per the six-lane 94, Northwest Indiana and Michigan drivers approaching the Lake Station exits are confronted with the proposal of exiting I-94 and becoming reacquainted with the shield at the South Side of Chicago. Again, I-94 is perfectly useless for City of Chicago traffic after Lake Station.

Interestingly, signage will read "Chicago via 94" and "Chicago via 90." I do feel that "Chicago Suburbs via 94" would be more applicable.

Motorists will merge towards the right to pick up I-90 and the Toll Road heading west. Take, heed signage at the 94 / Toll Road ramps is complete nonsense, and the Indiana Department of Transportation appears to be hell bent upon exacerbating the confusion. Rather than bold indicators identifying I-90 West, the overhead assembly carries "Indiana 51 - Ripley Street" as the control shield at the collector - distributor ramp.

Stay alert, as the assembly does feature smallish I-80 and I-90 East and West arrows pointing to the right off the exit. Drivers will bear right for the Toll Road, before elevating, and being sandwiched between oncoming truck traffic from the 80-94 ramps. Commuters must navigate this mixing bowl and transition to the left, beneath the 90 West "Chicago" sign for the Toll Road.

Remember to have some change ready prior to entering the I-90 Toll Road from 94.

Got that?

Driving Directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana and Points South: Gary Exits (I-90 Indiana Toll Road, I-80 / 94 Frank Borman Expressway, I-65)

Interstate 65 has undergone a facelift from Crown Point to Gary.

The roadway opens up to at least six lanes across after the Route 30 exits in Merrillville and skirts past the gleaming suburban sprawl of Northwest Indiana. The development is a welcome sight for drivers making the wretchedly mundane Indianapolis - Crown Point drive.

Motorists are also greeted with the "Chicago via 94" and "Chicago via 90" guides at the Gary approach. Chicagoans must ignore the 80-94 Borman bottleneck in favor of the I-90 West fast track. Interestingly, most 65 drivers will leave the expressway at 80-94 to follow that highway into the South and West Suburbs by way of the Tri-State Tollway.

Expect low vehicle counts as I-65 ends at the Toll Road and U.S. 12-20. The I-90 junction will flash "Illinois" and "Ohio." Obviously, Chicago traffic will navigate the exit towards 90 West and Illinois for the Windy City.

94 will branch off from 80 and head north into Chicago at South Holland, Illinois. However, the circuitous routing forces unwitting out-of-towners into the most contentious congestion of the Chicago area at the Borman - Kingery, Bishop Ford, and Dan Ryan expressways.

Driving Directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana and Points East and South: The I-90 Indiana Toll Road, Chicago Skyway, and Chicago Loop Exits

The Indiana Toll Road is the most ugly drive that I have ever made within The United States of America.

The four-lane highway overlooks oil refineries, smokestacks, steel mills, water filtration complexes, and power lines for 15 miles from Lake Station to Chicago. The Chicago - Indiana demarcation is absolutely jarring, with the tidy homes of the East Side meeting a hideous utility pole barrier at Hammond, Indiana. Yes, fishermen do patronize Wolf Lake at the border.

Personally, I would be terrified to consume any mutant-animal that germinates from said location.

The Indiana Toll Road is somewhat comparable to The New Jersey Turnpike. Still, the NJ Turnpike carries views of the Manhattan skyline and the Jersey Tough Guy mindset that is somewhat endearing; while Indiana's Toll Road is just downright hideous.

Drivers will pony up $1.75 cash tolls at the Westpoint toll booths and get out of Dodge.

Overhead signage now reads "To 90 - Chicago Skyway."

The Chicago Skyway is not up to Federal Highway Administration Interstate standards and will be signed as "90" or "To 90-94" at separate points. Motorists will bear left for the Skyway and are greeted with "Welcome to Chicago" banners as the road expands into six lanes across and elevates.

The Skyway Bridge barrels over the East Side and Calumet River before greeting 2-axle passenger vehicles with the $3.00 toll for use of this 7.8-mile road. The diagonal cut-off is rarely congested away from the tollbooths and aggressive Chicagoans often shift through the area at high speeds. The minimal traffic counts are a function of the lack of exits, and competing surface level streets that accommodate local traffic between the South Side and Chicago Loop.

For example, Indiana drivers may dismiss the $3 Skyway tolls by exiting at U.S. 12-20-41 at the border and tracing U.S. 41 North onto Lake Shore Drive and downtown.

Tourists and Chicago veterans could also elect to pony up the cash and exit at Stony Island Avenue for The Loop. Stony is a wide boulevard throughout its length and represents the perfect bypass away from maddening I-90 / 94 Dan Ryan parking lot, ahem, expressway. Stony Island divides after 2.5 miles at Jackson Park, with direct access to U.S. 41 - Lake Shore Drive via Cornell Avenue from the right-hand fork.

Of course, drivers always maintain the option of following The Skyway back into I-94 at the I-90 / 94 Dan Ryan merge. The reconfigured interchange presents drivers with the "Local" or "Express" carriageway option.

We must assume that Dan Ryan stop and-go-traffic at all times of the day characterizes the Illinois Department of Transportation's idea of "Express."

Welcome to Chicago.

Summary Driving Directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana:

Trace The I-80 / 90 Indiana Toll Road into Northwest Indiana.

Follow the I-90 / Indiana Toll Road West to Chicago.

The I-90 / Indiana Toll Road becomes The Chicago Skyway at the Chicago border.

The Skyway merges with the I-90 / 94 Dan Ryan Expressway heading directly into downtown.

Driving Directions to Chicago from Northwest Indiana and Points South and East, Sources:

The City of Chicago, http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/home.do

The State of Indiana, http://www.in.gov/

The Indiana Toll Road, https://www.getizoom.com/index.jsp