Illinois to Mesa

[Simpson9508]

We are leaving Illinois next week for Mesa. The route I have planned is to take I80 to I35 to Oklahoma City. I40 west to Santa Rosa, NM. 54 south to Alamogordo, 70 from Alamogordo to Las Cruces and then I10 to Mesa. I am wondering about the 54 south of Santa Rosa to Las Cruces. How is the road? Is there a better route? TIA

[twindman]

I have traveled that route quite a few times since I live in Mesa and have folks in Iowa. It is a very good road, I think. If you are like me and don't drive 70 or 75 on the interstates anyway, you can save 20-40 miles from Lordsburg to Mesa by angling to Safford and on thru Globe. The route is a high plains (not too high!!) and a good road. Only problem is if we have some cold weather thru the Globe-Superior area with rain/snow the days you are traveling there. The elevation is all the way up to 3500 feet - ha ha. The globe area also has a mostly 2 lane area for about 5-10 miles that is winding and down hill a bit - nothing bad tho.
Safe travels.

[knapper42]

I prefer to continue on I40 to Albuquerque and connect with I25 then travel south to Hatch and connect there with Hwy 26 with cuts across to Deming. That saves lots of miles by not having to go all the way down to cruses. The roads are good all the way and you will have no problems finding fuel or pulling a larger rig.
safe travels.

[twindman]

Just watch the weather. If it gets cold and snow in the forecast, use I10. Otherwise about any of the major roads are fine. Knapper42, your route is 60 miles longer than using 54, if my calculations are correct. The only thing you gain is staying on the interstate. If you drive freeway speed (70 or 75), you may get there the same time as driving on state highways at 62-65mph.