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A bit of advice regarding the Madison, IL stop:

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  • A bit of advice regarding the Madison, IL stop:

    I am a St. Louis native, so I’m speaking from experience when STRONGLY recommending that you arrange for your accommodations on the west (Missouri) side of the Mississippi. Furthermore, your best bet is to get beyond city limits.

    Traffic across the bridges is a mess during rush hour. You don’t want to get caught in with all the metro east commuters. Traveling across the Popular Street Bridge can be a white knuckle experience under the best of conditions. Signage is confusing for out of towners, and the I-55/I-44 off ramp can be treacherous.

    I’ll be staying in the Fenton area off I-44. Besides putting me outside the morning rush, it also gives a head start on what is sure to be a very long day traveling to Miami, OK.
    Last edited by TopBananaSixPack; January 9, 2012, 11:04 AM.
    -Jim
    "I can fix it. My old man is a television repairman. He's got the ULTIMATE set of tools."

  • #2
    Always appreciate the heads up.
    I have family that lives in one of the nicer suburbs, and they were like "You recall National Lampoon's family Vacation? Well, keep that in mind when visiting, have fun!".
    Andrew
    1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport and other FoCoMo problem children

    2020...year of getting screwed by a Narcissist and learning hard lessons into trusting the wrong people on a business venture.
    2021...year of singing "99 problems but an asshole ain't one"

    Moved cross country twice on a role of the dice...I left Nebraska and came back to Nebraska.

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    • #3
      See, I have been to GIR and I would recommend staying at Collinsville. That's where we always stayed for Monster Mopar weekend. Literally just up the highway 10 minutes and easy access to the place.

      Ryan
      Ryan's Cars in Barns Blog
      www.carsinbarns.blogspot.com

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      • #4
        TopBananaSixPack

        We too are staying in Fenton, but Im wondering about leaving FROM the raceway in the late afternoon/evening to get to Fenton? What about rush hour going westbound to Fenton? What is the best time to go to avoid the rush hour traffic? What might be the best route to go? Thanks!

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        • #5
          Originally posted by maromoma View Post
          TopBananaSixPack

          We too are staying in Fenton, but Im wondering about leaving FROM the raceway in the late afternoon/evening to get to Fenton? What about rush hour going westbound to Fenton? What is the best time to go to avoid the rush hour traffic? What might be the best route to go? Thanks!
          also reserved in Fenton.......excellent question re: traffic......

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          • #6
            a friend of mine said the same thing, so i'm at I-44 exit #286, due south of Forest Park. how bad is this area?
            Last edited by cobra; January 9, 2012, 01:37 PM.
            Bruce, Sanford, Fl

            welcome to my world

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Devil View Post
              See, I have been to GIR and I would recommend staying at Collinsville. That's where we always stayed for Monster Mopar weekend. Literally just up the highway 10 minutes and easy access to the place.

              Ryan
              I'm booked in Collinsville with several others -
              Phil / Omaha

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              • #8
                Originally posted by maromoma View Post
                TopBananaSixPack

                We too are staying in Fenton, but Im wondering about leaving FROM the raceway in the late afternoon/evening to get to Fenton? What about rush hour going westbound to Fenton? What is the best time to go to avoid the rush hour traffic? What might be the best route to go? Thanks!
                At the bridge, the heaviest traffic will be headed east, so you're okay until you get across the river. You will definitely run into some congestion on the other side. I-55/I-44 might be a little sticky. Lots of volume headed west on I-44, but it moves, and it's easy to navigate.

                Timing is everything though. Like any other metro area, hours from 4-6 are the heaviest.
                -Jim
                "I can fix it. My old man is a television repairman. He's got the ULTIMATE set of tools."

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by TopBananaSixPack View Post
                  At the bridge, the heaviest traffic will be headed east, so you're okay until you get across the river. You will definitely run into some congestion on the other side. I-55/I-44 might be a little sticky. Lots of volume headed west on I-44, but it moves, and it's easy to navigate.

                  Timing is everything though. Like any other metro area, hours from 4-6 are the heaviest.
                  I live in Houston ,Lets talk Traffic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                  Danny/Zachary
                  HRPT '08 LH, '09 Days 6 & 7, '10 LH

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by cobra View Post
                    a friend of mine said the same thing, so i'm at I-44 exit #286, due south of Forest Park. how bad is this area?
                    You could certainly do a lot worse. That said, I'm staying further west.
                    -Jim
                    "I can fix it. My old man is a television repairman. He's got the ULTIMATE set of tools."

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Eliteman76 View Post
                      Always appreciate the heads up.
                      I have family that lives in one of the nicer suburbs, and they were like "You recall National Lampoon's family Vacation? Well, keep that in mind when visiting, have fun!".
                      Us Too!!! i have a sister that lives west of Six Flags, and will be staying with her to beat the St Louie Traffic in the AM!!!!
                      Patrick & Tammy
                      - Long Haulin' 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014...Addicting isn't it...??

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by silver_bullet View Post
                        Us Too!!! i have a sister that lives west of Six Flags, and will be staying with her to beat the St Louie Traffic in the AM!!!!
                        Family doesn't get far from the river eh Patrick ? You got the north end - she has the south end covered.
                        Phil / Omaha

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                        • #13
                          Wondering for those of us that might want to stay near Collinsville/Madison on Tuesday night, i noticed there is a route down I255 crossing the river at I270 back up to I44. Would this route be any less congested since you are going away from the city and staying on the outskirts?

                          I am from Chicago so i know all about traffic and patterns, but i also know that the outer rings lighten up a lot sooner than the interior Interstates.

                          I really would like to stay near Collinsville/Madison because i have a feeling there might be some drag events that night, and that is the closest we will be to a drag strip the whole tour! and also the hotels are still lot cheaper over there than on the other side of STL.

                          Is the Eureka area good by Six Flags? and how far is that from Fenton where everyone else is staying?
                          Long Hauler 2009, 10, 11, 12, 15 3 of 7 in 2013 5 of 8 in 2014 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by GTPilot88 View Post
                            Wondering for those of us that might want to stay near Collinsville/Madison on Tuesday night, i noticed there is a route down I255 crossing the river at I270 back up to I44. Would this route be any less congested since you are going away from the city and staying on the outskirts?

                            I am from Chicago so i know all about traffic and patterns, but i also know that the outer rings lighten up a lot sooner than the interior Interstates.

                            I really would like to stay near Collinsville/Madison because i have a feeling there might be some drag events that night, and that is the closest we will be to a drag strip the whole tour! and also the hotels are still lot cheaper over there than on the other side of STL.

                            Is the Eureka area good by Six Flags? and how far is that from Fenton where everyone else is staying?
                            255 runs from just East of Gateway (on I-70) south and then turns into 270 - which meets up with 44 as 270 loops around the city. Our daughter goes to school in Chicago so I usually take 255 instead of going through downtown.

                            From Gateway to Fenton is about 30-40 minutes. There won't be much on the way of traffic going from Gateway towards Fenton until you're about 5 miles away from Fenton - so sailing will be good.

                            I live in South County. On a Sunday it's a 20 minute drive from my house to Gateway. For the Tour I'm staying in Collinsville because I have 10 other people on the Tour with me, and there ain't no way they're staying at my house.

                            Collinsville isn't bad, but it's not great. We can survive there for one night. Morning traffic will be tough but I've spoken to the Family Events and Hot Rod folks and we're taking the 255/270 loop south around downtown, so it's not a big deal.

                            Eureka (Six Flags) is about 10 minutes west of Fenton. Fenton has lots of reasonably priced, nice hotels. There's a Drury Inn/Suites in Fenton (at the Highway 141 exit) just a couple of years old that's killer - and about $100 a night
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                            • #15
                              Thanks for chiming in Forrest. I haven't done much commuting in that area since I moved away almost ten years ago (time flies). Consequently, I was somewhat hesitant to suggest the best route.
                              -Jim
                              "I can fix it. My old man is a television repairman. He's got the ULTIMATE set of tools."

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