Western Avenue (Chicago)

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Western Avenue
Direction:	North-south
From:	Will/Kankakee county line at County Line Road
To:	Asbury Street at Howard Street at the Chicago/Evanston city limits
Major cities:	Posen, Blue Island, Chicago

Western Avenue is the longest continuous street within the city of Chicago at 23.5 miles (37.8 km) in length. Some sources claim that Western is the longest street in the world [1]. In places it was originally an Indian trail.

[edit] Location

Following a north to south path, the road begins as Asbury Street in Evanston. Continuing as Western Avenue after Howard Street, it passes Rosehill Cemetery and later Lane Tech High School. It crosses the North Branch and then the South Branch of the Chicago River. Leaving the city it runs through Blue Island, crosses the Calumet River and veering slightly to the east becomes Dixie Highway. It resumes at 149th Street and runs discontinuously through the southern suburbs past Interstate 80, and ends at County Line Road, which divides Will and Kankakee counties. However, it often is considered to start at Howard and end at 119th Street (its boundaries within Chicago). It is located 3 miles (2400) west of State Street, Chicago's east-west dividing line.

[edit] Transit

Western Avenue is serviced by many Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains. It is bisected by the Brown Line, Orange Line, Pink Line, and three times by the Blue Line, on the O'Hare, 54/Cermak, and Forest Park branches. The Western Avenue Buses (#49, 49A, 49B, and x49) run along Western Avenue, from Howard Street in the north to 135th Street in Blue Island. It is also served by the #349 Pace bus in the southern suburbs.

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