Houston to Gillette WY

[Auto hauler]

Originally Posted by nctox

Auto hauler,
How does US 287 thru Ft. Worth compare with the Interstate loop around it? Isn't 287 congested there?

Your going to have some traffic no matter which way you go NW of Dallas/Fort Worth.

Might try coming up I 45 from points south (Houston) to I 20 westbound.

20 West to to TX 360 northbound. (Construction on 360 is nearly complete. Traffic flows much better than b4)

360 North, skirt the west side of the airport to TX 114. (Construction on 114 is still there but flows much better than a few months ago.)

Follow TX 114 up past the NASCAR track all the way to US 287. and smooth sailing to points north. (Bit of construction on 114 near the race track and I 35W, but no big deal in most cases) (14'2" underpass is still there just past the track, but shouldn't be an issue for you)

All this will avoid the cluster F. around Fort Worth/ US 287/I 35W/I 820/TX 183 and all the insane construction and restriction.

Once up in Amarillo, be sure to catch the loop (335?) as you come into town, north and west to 287. No need in going downtown unless you just want to.

Happy trails.... Spot a red 18 wheeler Western Star auto carrier on this route and it just might be me! I am through there all the time.

[Auto hauler]

Originally Posted by adonh

Does this look like the route you suggest

Directions from Houston, TX to Gillette, WY best route map

Close.... However, I normally avoid going up through Raton, NM and catching I 25 there. Simply because of the traffic from south of Colorado Springs clear up through Denver and nearly to Ft. Collins.

Stay with 287 to Limon as mentioned before. It will be a few more mile of two lane, but far easier running, less stress and traffic.

[Auto hauler]

Originally Posted by TurboLQ9

Not so! The wife, 2 cats and I drove our Prius (had to leave the TT behind due to time constraints) along CO-470 in January on our way to Fort Lewis, Washington from my duty station at Fort Riley, Kansas and got nailed not once but twice (on the way there and back) by this toll road We have North Carolina license plates and the car is registered to my parents' house in NC. About a month after we got back to Kansas, my Dad called me and said he had gotten a bill in the mail from Colorado because of this toll road, so beware!

I guess I've just been lucky. Been on the C-470 toll road numerous times and never received a bill. Same for the stupid toll roads around the Dallas area, Austin as well.

Hope my admitting this on this public forum doesn't jinx me on old tolls, late payment fees and what not.

[LDMcK]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

I've encountered lots of wind (from the west- NW) that eats fuel and makes steering a two fisted sport. I suggest at Wichita going up US 81 to Salina and west on I 70. East of Denver, take I-270 NW to I-25 N. (It is a toll road, but only 7 miles) I-25 to Douglas, WY, then north on WY 59 right to Gillette. You could avoid the toll by driving I-70 to I-25, but that is a notoriously congested junction, (called 'Malfunction Junction)

Yeah I thought I would better off not using the toll road too but the traffic congestion out of Denver was brutal. Next time I will pay the toll.

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by LDMcK

Yeah I thought I would better off not using the toll road too but the traffic congestion out of Denver was brutal. Next time I will pay the toll.

To clarify, the toll road around Denver is I-470. West of the I-70 / I-470 interchange is an exit for I-270, a FREE highway that goes NW to I-76 and I-25 north. It avoids the 'malfunction junction' that is the I-70 /I-25 intersection.