Best "longcuts" to beat city traffic

I travelled south of Chicago ONCE to get around the city. It was a long time ago and never again. I went for a nap to dodge Chicago rush hour after that experience. Toronto I used to wait until 7pm to depart even if load was ready at 4 pm as it could take 3 hours to get free of gridlock!..Both cities must be such a mess now 25 years later
Most US cities seem to have some sort of bypass to alleviate traffic congestion but you are certainly not alone trying to make miles during rush hour

 

My personal favorite

 

After you’ve done this job long enough [under elogs especially] you get very smart in your trip planning and time management over the short and long term to avoid or minimize big city traffic problems on cross country trips. Otherwise, Google Maps app with traffic layer turned on is your best friend. Check at key times prior to approaching deviation points.

Loops are not always your best choice

 

Taking the queensboro bridge from long island to manhattan driving almost 130 city blocks to gwb to avoid the traffic on i 95

 

At rush hr.running east or west...... 840 is a great way to miss Nashville TN (Crashville)

 

Just a thought: would the hazmat route be the better option in most cases? Just curious.

 

From des Moines to point's west use 680 west to 29 south to 680 west to 80 west ...same mileage and takes ya around Central Omaha .

 

i use to run I-10 to us 70 to us 54 to I-40 to us 54 to ks 61 to us 50 to I-35