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 route numbers but rather by various given names.
| Kennedy Expressway Interstate 90 Interstate 94 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. | |
| Kennedy Expressway Spur Interstate 190 |
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. | |
| Jane Addams Memorial Tollway Interstate 90 Northwest Tollway |
Runs from its complex interchange with the Kennedy Expressway and the Tri-State Tollway through the northwest suburbs towards Rockford. | |
| Edens Expressway Interstate 94 U.S. Route 41 |
Running 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. | |
| Dan Ryan Expressway Interstate 90 Interstate 94 Interstate 57 |
Part of I-90 and I-94, then separately I-57, the expressway 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. | |
| Eisenhower Expressway Interstate 290 Illinois Route 53 Congress Expressway |
Part of I-290, then separately as Illinois Route 53, it 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. | |
| Stevenson Expressway Interstate 55 |
From its northern terminus 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. | |
| Veterans Memorial Tollway Interstate 355 North-South Tollway |
It 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. | |
| Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway Interstate 88 East-West Tollway |
It 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 Dan Ryan West Leg |
It 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 freeway within the city of Chicago lacking a formal name. | |
| Bishop Ford Freeway Interstate 94 Illinois Route 394 Calumet Expressway |
Part of I-94 and separately Illinois Route 394 is the Bishop Ford Freeway. It 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. | |
| Chicago Skyway Interstate 90 |
The skyway 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. | |
| Tri-State Tollway Interstate 294 Interstate 94 |
The Tri-State Tollway, which bears the I-294 designation and separately the I-94 designation, 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). | |
| Kingery Expressway Interstate 80 Interstate 94 U.S. Route 6 |
Located entirely in Lansing, Illinois, this 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 |
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. Portions of Lake Shore Drive were constructed as a "true" expressway, with a few interchanges in addition to 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. | |
| Elgin Bypass U.S. Route 20 |
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. | |
| Kingery Highway Illinois Route 83 |
From Devon Avenue in Elk Grove, the Kingery Highway (Illinois Route 83) heads south 18 miles to just south of the Des Plains River-Sanitary Canal-Illinois and Michigan Canal corridor. It is a multi lane divided limited access road with portions grade separated, the longest being 5 miles from 22nd Street in Oakbrook to 63rd Street in Willowbrook. | |
| Amstutz Expressway Illinois Route 137 |
A two-mile expressway located entirely in Waukegan, Illinois. It has only one exit at Grand Avenue. | |
| Elgin-O'Hare Expressway | An unnumbered 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. |
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