Driving from Wisconsin to Tucson

[bwillett]

We will be driving from Wisconsin to Tucson in a couple of weeks. The part of the route that I'm not sure of is from Wichita to Albuquerque. AAA routed us on interstates taking I35 south to Oklahoma City and west on I40. The GPS takes a shorter route on US54 from Wichita to Tucumcari saving about 100 miles. I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with that stretch of US54. Is it two-lane or four-lane? Are there frequent stops going through towns? In general, is it a reasonable short-cut or should I stick with the interstate?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[Passepartout]

US 54 is a well known 'shortcut' for truckers. It's a good road, but with towns to go through, and some fairly long stretches of 2 lane. If you are OK with 2 lane highways and sharing them with heavy truck traffic, it's fine.

Either route can be affected by weather, so you might keep an ear to the radio on the way.

If you factor your fuel mileage, i.e. how many gallons you'll burn in 100 miles, that will show you how much you'd save taking US 54. Timewise, I'd be surprised if the shortcut would save an hour.

Jim