Blue Island, Illinois - Transportation

Transportation

The city is a hub for Metra trains, with six stations, four of them along the Rock Island District Line: 119th Street, 123rd Street, Prairie Street, and Vermont Street. The Rock Island District Line splits at Gresham, north-east of Blue Island, and the branch (known alternately as the 'Beverly', 'Blue Island', or 'Suburban' branch) serves the Chicago communities of Gresham, Beverly Hills and Morgan Park and the stations in Blue Island between 119th Street and Vermont Street, where the tracks re-join the main line. (The branch line was built in 1888 as a result of efforts by the Blue Island Land and Building Company to promote its interests in what was to become the town and eventually the Chicago neighborhood of Morgan Park.) The Vermont Street station, which is one of the oldest in the Metra network (having been built in 1868) is across the street from the fifth station, which serves as the terminus of a Metra Electric (formerly the Illinois Central) spur line. The sixth station, also on the electric line, is a half mile north on Burr Oak Ave. (127th St.) and Lincoln Ave. Blue Island is also served by Pace Suburban Bus.
The city is 34 miles (45 minutes) from O'Hare Airport, and 12.5 miles (30 minutes) from Midway Airport. It is located a half mile west of Interstate 57, one and a half miles east of the Tri-State Tollway and is bisected by Western Avenue, which in Blue Island is part of the historic Dixie Highway that in its heyday connected Chicago with Miami, Florida.