Need routing advice

Boring me says run 80 until I-35.

15 to 90 is good with one caveat: all those dang curves near the Idaho/Montana border.

 

I would go Rawlins to I-25 to Gillette. Check your atlas, I forget the road numbers but there is a road just North of Casper that cuts across to Gillette. I want to say it is 237 to Highway 50 North. Once to I-90 on Gillette go East to I-29 North in Sioux Falls. Then go to 212 East in Watertown (exit 177). Follow 212 East all the way to South Minneapolis. Best wishes and safe travels!

 

Quickest and easiest is 80 to Des Moines then 35 north.
Shortest and scenic is 80 to Rawlins up to Casper over to Lusk.
20 east to sd 73 north to I90 east to Worthington then 60/169 to the twin cities

 

Check Iowa, NE, SD and so on on the DOT webpages looking for closed routes. Then take the one that is not closed.

I suppose I would get up to Salt Lake City, north through Odgen into Idaho and then 90 East into Montana. All of this is strictly interstate. And quite a bit of little out of route.

Conundrum if you ask me.

 

Shortest:
Get on I-80 E in Auburn from CA-49 N
Follow I-80 E to US-93 N in Wells. Take exit 352 from I-80 ETo I-84 E in Jerome County
, I-86 E and I-15 N to US-20 E/Hwy 20 E in Idaho Falls. Take exit 119from I-15 N For I-90 E in Gallatin County from US-287 N and MT-84 E, Take I-94 E to Co Hwy 11/MN-336 N in Glyndon Township. Take exit 6 from I-94 E, Take US-10 E, Co Hwy 60, Co Hwy 8 and MN-227 Trunk E to 20th St SW in McKinley Township
Minnesota

 

We all know that the shortest route is seldom the quickest. Check Google maps for construction areas along 80 and 35, along with estimated delay times thereon, and plan route that way.

You can save yourself 50-200 miles by taking back roads and US highways (sometimes synonymous) but the added time from slowing down for all the 50 inhabitant towns and the lower speed limits could add 4-5 hours to your trip.

I'll use the same logic when deciding whether or not to pay tolls. Time + being able to maintain a constant speed = money. I try to make the most for every hour the truck is moving.

 

I have run a similar route several times in both direction, and am doing so with my current load.

I-80 to I-35 and north to MN.
Other ways are can be ~100 miles shorter, but none the faster by more than a few minutes.
And you have many more options for stopping points going that way.

 

I hate driving on two lane roads for extended periods of time.

 

Use Google maps. Usually about 95% of the route is a truck route. Verify the route using a trucking road atlas.

Maps below are from Rawlins, WY to I-35W/MN-13, south of Minneapolis.