US Hwy 212

[Ag&Au]

Has someone here driven US Hwy 212 through Southeastern Montana?
I'm am interested in opinions. It looks pretty barren and sparsely populated.
Google Maps wants me to take that Hwy to avoid the swoop south in I-90.
Google says it is an hour shorter.

Ken

[vkb]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

Has someone here driven US Hwy 212 through Southeastern Montana?
I'm am interested in opinions. It looks pretty barren and sparsely populated.
Google Maps wants me to take that Hwy to avoid the swoop south in I-90.
Google says it is an hour shorter.

Ken

Ken...is has been a number of years since we have been on 212 .. someone else may weighin on your question. That area is beautiful...you might check hiway conditions regarding bridges and tunnels.
Remember, If you go to Glacier...The Hiway to the Sun...check with the Ranger Station regarding height restrictions/problems.

Kay

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

.... It looks pretty barren and sparsely populated.

Which part of Montana isn't?


As I recall driving from Badlands NP to northern entrance to Yellowstone years ago, we stayed on I-90 and it wasn't bad; although that seemed sparsely populated to me (not to say 212 isn't more so -- I don't know). It's possible they have road construction causing delays, because it doesn't seem like I-90 would be an hour slower otherwise. It's been a few years so I may not remember total distances correctly.

You are wise to consider how isolated you can become. On that trip we had the house battery go out and ended up driving hours before we got to a store/shop that carried deep-cycle batteries.

Part of what I like about Montana and a few of the sourounding states is that their combined population is less than that of the Greater Houston Area. Based on your point of reference, sparsely populated can be an understatement.

[Chance]

P.S. -- Ken, you may want to try Google again. I just got 9 minutes slower.

I'm not sure, but think Google may use real-time traffic conditions, which may influence estimates.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Chance

I'm not sure, but think Google may use real-time traffic conditions, which may influence estimates.

It usually does, but when it does it will say something like "with current traffic" or something similar right next to the estimate. In some cases it gives you a link to click on to turn off the "with traffic" calculation. (I'm talking about using maps.google.com in a browser--the app may show the distinction in a different way.)

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

It usually does, but when it does it will say something like "with current traffic" or something similar right next to the estimate. In some cases it gives you a link to click on to turn off the "with traffic" calculation. (I'm talking about using maps.google.com in a browser--the app may show the distinction in a different way.)

I'm interested in figuring how far in advance it takes traffic into account. If I'm only going 10 miles it may very well vary the route, assuming I'm departing at that time. But if your requested route is cross-country, and there is an accident where you won't get to for two days, does it still avoid that area? Or is it smart enough to assume it'll be cleared by then?

On my iPad it shows construction along selected route. But sometimes it gives me a route that makes little sense, so it's either an error, or it's avoiding an area for unknown reason (unknown to me, not necessarily Google).

[leshunter]

Just went to Scobey, MT from IL. Scobey, MT to Deadwood, SD and back home to IL. Had to use Hwy 200 and HwY 13. Not sure about 212, but the area is rural and if given a choice for Interstate, I would use especially at night.
Gas options are small and more expensive in the small off the interstate HWY's.

[Ag&Au]

Thanks for all ideas so far.

I am going from my home in Port Orchard, WA to Strawberry Point IA

So far I have yet to have Google tell me to stay on I-90.

Ken

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Chance

I'm interested in figuring how far in advance it takes traffic into account. If I'm only going 10 miles it may very well vary the route, assuming I'm departing at that time. But if your requested route is cross-country, and there is an accident where you won't get to for two days, does it still avoid that area? Or is it smart enough to assume it'll be cleared by then?

Good question...
Playing around with google maps right now via Chrome:

• If I tell it to route a trip of ~1300 miles (MI -> FL) it comes up "Without traffic" by default
• If I tell it to route a trip of ~50 miles it also shows up "Without traffic"
• If I tell it to route through the city ~30 miles: "Without traffic" hmm
• If I tell it to route through the city ~30 miles later today at 5pm it shows "typically 30-45 min" (hence with traffic)
• Trying the ~50 mile trip at a specific time: same thing "typically 45min - 1hour"
• Now the 1300 mile trip at a specific time: same thing "typically ..."

So, at least with the web interface, it would appear to not take traffic into account unless you tell it to use a specific time then it uses historical averages for that day of week/time of day.
It is also possible since I'm doing these exercises at lunch that it simply disregards traffic because it isn't an issue at lunch here in Southeastern MI.

[KNMIB]

1 DAY 3 HOURS AND 57MINUTES I-90 all the way is what Rand McNally shows they turn you south at Albert Lea Minnesota to Iowa. I have used Rand for years when I was in sales and it worked good for me.