Roads and Expressways in Chicago - Expressways

Expressways

The city of Chicago proper has seven major interstate highways crossing through it. However, the various roadways are more typically known to Chicagoans not by their Interstate numbers but rather by various given names. The local vernacular uses "Expressway" for most Interstate grade highways; however, it is most common for Chicagoans to omit the designation entirely and refer to the highway by just its name, e.g. "The Eisenhower," or "The Dan Ryan" will be immediately comprehensible to any Chicagoan.

• The Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90 and Interstate 94; formerly the "North-West Expressway") runs from O'Hare International Airport east and south to downtown Chicago. It interchanges with the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and the Tri-State Tollway near Cumberland Avenue on the city's far northwest side (not far from its western terminus at O'Hare), with the Edens Expressway near Montrose Avenue on the city's near northwest side, and with the Dan Ryan and Eisenhower Expressways and with Congress Parkway at its southern terminus downtown at the Circle Interchange near the Chicago Loop. The portion from O'Hare to the interchange with Northwest Highway and the Tri-State is Interstate 190; the remainder is signed as Interstate 90. Interstate 94 is overlaid on Interstate 90 from the junction with the Edens south to the southern terminus of the expressway.

• Interstate 190 is a three-mile spur from the complex interchange with the Kennedy Expressway and the Jane Addams and Tri-State Tollways into O'Hare International Airport.

• The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90; formerly the Northwest Tollway) runs from its complex interchange with the Kennedy Expressway and the Tri-State Tollway through the northwest suburbs towards Rockford.

• The Edens Expressway (Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 41) runs south from the Cook County line (Lake-Cook Road) near Northbrook to its interchange with the Kennedy Expressway near Montrose. The Edens Spur (formally a part of the Tri-State Tollway) splits off near the north end to interchange with the mainline Tri-state. All of the Edens except for the small portion north of where the Edens Spur splits off, and all of the Edens Spur, is signed as Interstate 94; the northernmost section is signed as U.S. Route 41. North of the northern terminus U.S. 41 continues north into Lake County as Skokie Highway. U.S. 41 is overlaid on Interstate 94 from the junction with the Edens Spur to the Skokie Road exit in Wilmette.

• The Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 90 and Interstate 94, then separately Interstate 57) runs south from the Circle Interchange (where it interchanges with the Kennedy and Eisenhower Expressways and with Congress Parkway) near the Chicago Loop, through the Spaghetti Bowl where it interchanges with the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55), then past an interchange with the Chicago Skyway near 66th Street, to its southern terminus in south Chicago, where it interchanges with the Bishop Ford Freeway and continues southwest through south Chicago and the southern suburbs toward Champaign-Urbana. The Dan Ryan is signed as Interstate 94 until it interchanges with the Bishop Ford Freeway and Interstate 57; the Dan Ryan is then signed as the latter (although for the purposes of local traffic reports and conversation, the Dan Ryan is usually considered to end at the Interstate 57 interchange). The portion between the Circle Interchange and the junction with the Chicago Skyway is overlaid with Interstate 90. There are express and local lanes running through downtown Chicago on the south side of the city which were under construction until their completion in November 2007.

• The Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290, and then separately Illinois Route 53; formerly "Congress Expressway") runs from Wells Street downtown almost due west to Chicago's western suburbs, interchanging with the Tri-State Tollway and the eastern terminus of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate 88) near Hillside, Illinois, after which it turns northwest (as the "Eisenhower extension"). At the interchange with Interstate 90, it continues as Illinois Route 53 until eventually terminating at Lake Cook Road. Schaumburg. East of Wells Street, the route continues along the southern edge of the Loop as Congress Parkway to an intersection with Columbus Drive in Grant Park.

• The Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) has its northern terminus at Lake Shore Drive near the McCormick Place convention center. From the junction with Lake Shore Drive, the Stevenson runs southwest where it interchanges with the Dan Ryan before heading to the south and southwestern neighborhoods of Chicago. The Stevenson then continues past Chicago Midway International Airport and out of Chicago. After leaving Chicago it intersects with the Tri-State Tollway and the Veterans Memorial Tollway, and then heads southwest out of the Chicago area toward Joliet (where it intersects Interstate 80) and on into central Illinois.

• The Veterans Memorial Tollway (Interstate 355) (formerly the North-South Tollway) runs from an interchange with Interstate 290 through the western suburbs to a complex interchange with Interstate 88 before continuing south to the redone interchange with Interstate 55, its former southern terminus. Then it continues on 11 miles of new tollway to its southern terminus at Interstate 80.

• The Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate 88; formerly the East-West Tollway) runs from a complex interchange with the Eisenhower Expressway and the Tri-State Tollway west to another complex interchange with Interstate 355. Then it heads through the western suburbs into north-central Illinois.

• Interstate 57 runs from the junction of the Dan Ryan Expressway and Bishop Ford Freeway south-southwest to the southern suburbs. Known originally as the "Dan Ryan West Leg", the name has since dropped from common usage. As such, it is the only expressway within the city of Chicago lacking a formal name.

• The Bishop Ford Freeway (Interstate 94, and then separately Illinois Route 394; originally named the Calumet Expressway, and still referred to as such in some local traffic reports) starts at the southern terminus of the Dan Ryan Expressway and heads first southeast and then south through southern Chicago and into Chicago's southern suburbs, where it intersects with the western end of the Kingery Expressway and the eastern end of the Tri-State Tollway, then continues on further into the south suburbs before downgrading to a surface highway and eventually terminating into Dixie Highway (Illinois Route 1) south of Crete, Illinois. The portion of the Bishop Ford Freeway north of the interchange with the Kingery Expressway is signed as Interstate 94; south of that point it is signed as Illinois Route 394.

• The Chicago Skyway (Interstate 90) angles off from the Dan Ryan Expressway near 66th Street and heads southeast toward Indiana. Whether or not the Skyway is part of Interstate 90 is a matter of some debate. The eastern end of the Skyway ends with toll bridge over the Little Calumet River and (incidentally) the Indiana state line; on the other side of the state line the Skyway ends at the western terminus of the Indiana Toll Road.

• The Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294, and then separately Interstate 94) only enters Chicago at one point: its interchange with the Kennedy Expressway and North-West Tollway on the far northwest side. Otherwise, the Tri-State circumvents the city of Chicago entirely, running entirely through the suburbs from its northern terminus near the Wisconsin border to its southern terminus at the interchange with the Bishop Ford Freeway and the western end of the Kingery Expressway. North of the junction with the Edens Spur the Tri-State is signed as Interstate 94; south of this it is signed as Interstate 294, and the southern part of that is overlaid by Interstate 80 (which continues east past the eastern terminus of Interstate 294 as the Kingery Expressway and on into Indiana).

• The Kingery Expressway (Interstate 80, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 6) entirely in Lansing, Illinois, is a three mile long expressway from the interchange with the Bishop Ford Freeway and the Tri-State Tollway to the Illinois/Indiana border.

• Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Route 41) is a major highway running along the Lake Michigan shoreline from Hayes Drive (63rd Street) in southern Chicago to the intersection of Hollywood Avenue and Sheridan Road in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. For most of its length, Lake Shore Drive is signed as U.S. Route 41. Parts of Lake Shore Drive are constructed at or near expressway grade, but there are a number of at-grade intersections, especially near downtown. Nonetheless, "LSD" (as it is often referred to) is a major arterial with a great deal of cultural as well as transportation significance to Chicagoans.

• The Elgin Bypass (U.S. Route 20) is a five-mile freeway along U.S. Route 20, bypassing Elgin, Illinois. It goes west from the Villa Street interchange across the Fox River with exits at State Street, McLean Boulevard, and Randall Road before continuing as an at-grade road.

• The Kingery Highway (Illinois Route 83) is a freeway from 55th Street in Clarendon Hills to Roosevelt Road in Oakbrook Terrace. South of 55th Street it is a 4-lane surface road. North of Roosevelt Road, it is a 6-lane divided highway.

• The Amstutz Expressway (Illinois Route 137) is a two-mile freeway located entirely in Waukegan, Illinois. It has only one exit at Grand Avenue.

• The Elgin–O'Hare Expressway is an unsigned expressway that was originally planned to connect to Interstate 190 and the Elgin Bypass, hence the name. It heads west from Rohlwing Road in Itasca through Roselle and Schaumburg until terminating at an interchange with U.S. Route 20.

• U.S. Route 41 enters through the southeastern part of the city from Indiana as a part of U.S. Route 12 and U.S. Route 20, underneath the bridge linking the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road. It traverses the southeast side of the city until it becomes South Shore Drive, and eventually Lake Shore Drive. U.S. 41 then departs from Lake Shore Drive at Foster Avenue. From Foster Avenue, U.S. 41 continues northwest on Lincoln Avenue, finally exiting Chicago at Devon Avenue into the suburb of Lincolnwood.
• U.S. Route 14 splits off from U.S. Route 41 at Bryn Mawr Avenue by Lake Michigan on the north side of the city. U.S. 14 then recrosses U.S. 41 and eventually exits the city as Caldwell Avenue.
• U.S. Route 12 and U.S. Route 20 enter the city proper on the far south side on 95th Street at Western Avenue. They stay together until they join U.S. Route 41 in the south side, and exit together into Indiana. U.S. 12 crosses back into Chicago by O'Hare International Airport concurrent with U.S. Route 45.
• U.S. Route 45 remains mostly outside of Chicago, crossing Interstate 190 as a part of U.S. Route 12 and U.S. Route 20. It follows the Des Plaines River as the Des Plaines River Road or Mannheim Road.