Interstate 94 in Illinois

Interstate 94
Route information
Maintained by Illinois Department of Transportation
Length: 78.00 mi[1] (125.53 km)
Major junctions
West end: I-94 / US 41 near Zion
  I-294 in Northbrook
I-90 in Chicago
I-290 in Chicago
I-55 in Chicago
I-90 in Chicago
I-57 in Chicago
I-80 / I-294 / IL 394 in South Holland
East end: I-80 / I-94 / US 6 in Lansing
Highway system

Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

Illinois state highway system
Illinois Tollway system

← IL 93 IL 94 →

In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 94 generally runs north–south through the northeastern portion of the state, in Lake and Cook Counties. It is marked east–west in Illinois in accordance with its general alignment across the country, although some entrances on the Tri-State Tollway have north or south I-94 signs. I-94 in Illinois is 78.00 miles (125.53 km) long.[1]

Contents

Route description

The control cities for I-94 generally are Wisconsin or Milwaukee to the north and west, Chicago or Chicago Loop for those heading to the central portion, and Indiana to the south and east.

Wisconsin to Downtown Chicago

See also: Tri-State Tollway, Edens Spur, Edens Expressway, and Kennedy Expressway

I-94 traverses rural and suburban areas in Lake County, and serves Six Flags Great America and the Gurnee Mills mall; extensive office developments and residential districts in southern Lake County and the North Shore region of Cook County, and serves the Old Orchard Shopping Center; the length of the city of Chicago, running just west of the Chicago Loop on the Kennedy Expressway.

I-94 has 6 lanes (3 in each direction) from the state line to Illinois Route 173 (Rosecrans Road) with wide shoulders planned to be 8 by 2015-2016 (same time as the I-94 in WI work). At this point it becomes 8 lanes wide until just north of Deerfield Road where it widens further to 10 lanes as it approaches Interstate 294 and the Edens Spur. This is where 3 lanes branch off and begin I-294 while 2 lanes for I-94 head east onto the Edens Spur which only has four lanes total (two in each direction).

The highway turns south and widens back to six lanes on the Edens Expressway, and to ten lanes (four lanes in each direction + two reversible lanes) along the Kennedy Expressway. At Ohio Street, the reversible lanes terminate and the highway has 10 lanes to Circle Interchange, where the left lane ends and the right lane exits onto the Eisenhower Expressway.

Mileposts along the portion of I-94 that are part of the Tri-State Tollway reflect the distance from the southeastern terminus of the tollway, leading to a counterintuitive increase in the mile numbers as one proceeds "west."

Downtown Chicago to Indiana

See also: Dan Ryan Expressway, Bishop Ford Freeway, and Kingery Expressway

South of downtown Chicago, I-94 serves the southeast suburbs of Chicago, including Dolton, Calumet City, and South Holland, Illinois, until it joins Interstate 80 on the Kingery Expressway, which finally enters Indiana east of Lansing, Illinois.

I-94 has ten lanes (five in each direction) from the exit ramps of the Circle Interchange to the Stevenson Expressway. It then splits into a 14 lane expressway on the Dan Ryan, with three and four lanes alternating between the local and express lanes in both directions. At the Chicago Skyway, a two lane ramp carries traffic to I-90, leaving ten lanes (five in each direction) running south to the I-57/I-94 junction.

From I-57 to Cottage Grove Avenue, I-94 has four lanes (two lanes each way), with six lanes (three lanes each way) between Michigan Avenue and Cottage Grove Avenue. The freeway connection ramp to Stony Island Avenue has four lanes (two in each direction). I-94 then has six lanes (three in each direction) south to I-80. On the ramps to and from I-80, I-94 has two lanes in each direction. On I-80 itself, I-94 widens to eight lanes (four in each direction) to the state line.

The section including the Southland Interchange with I-80 and 294 was reconfigured as part of the Kingery Expressway reconstruction project, completed in 2007, including 4 lanes south of 159th Street, with the split between I-80 and 94 East to the left, and I-80 West, I-294 North, and Ill. 394 South on the right located north of the 170th St. overpass. The configuration of I-80 and 94 is discussed in connection with the Kingery Expressway.

History

Interstate 494 (and later Interstate 694) was originally planned to serve as a loop in Chicago and follow Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan. After local opposition prevented I-494 and I-694 from being completed, both numbers were completely dropped. Portions of the old I-494/I-694 exist as US 41/Lake Shore Drive and the Ohio Street connector. In addition, I-494 was also planned at one point to be a western bypass of Chicago, as the Crosstown Expressway.

From 2007-2009 Interstate 94 was widened from 6 to 8 lanes between Illinois Route 173 (Rosecrans Road) and Illinois Route 22 (Half Day Road).[2]

Exit list

Tri-State Tollway

See Tri-State Tollway for exits on the Tri-State Tollway.

Edens Expressway

County Location[1] Mile[1] #[1] Destinations Notes
I-94 runs west onto the Edens Spur
Cook Northbrook 29.96 29 U.S. Route 41 North (Skokie Highway) I-94 continues west onto the Tri-State Tollway. Southbound U.S. 41 joins I-94 traveling eastbound. No access to northbound U.S. 41 from I-94 EB.
30.23 30A-B Illinois Route 68 West — Dundee Road Eastern terminus of Illinois 68. Westbound exits, eastbound entrances.
Northbrook
Northfield 31.92 31 Tower Road Westbound entrance, eastbound exit.
Tower Road East goes to Winnetka; access to Northfield and Willow Road via West Frontage Road.
33.04 33A-B Willow Road Westbound exit, eastbound entrance.
Winnetka
Wilmette 33.95 34A U.S. Route 41 South — Skokie Road Westbound entrance, eastbound exit.
34.58 34B-C Lake Avenue Westbound exit, eastbound entrance.
Skokie 35.84 35 Old Orchard Road (10000 North) Access to Old Orchard Mall
37.38 37A-B Illinois Route 58 — Dempster Street (8800 north) Signed to Northwestern University.
Morton Grove
Lincolnwood 39.87 39A-B Touhy Avenue (7200 North) Westbound exit to Touhy Avenue East utilizes Illinois Route 50 — Cicero Avenue.

Western portion of interchange is in Skokie.
Chicago 41.37 41A-B U.S. Route 14 — Peterson Avenue / Caldwell Avenue (6000 North) Eastbound exit only to Peterson eastbound; Caldwell entrance only to I-94 East.
41.91 41C Illinois Route 50 South — Cicero Avenue (4800 West) Eastbound exit only. Signed to Interstate 90 West; O'Hare Field; Foster Avenue.
42.49 42 Foster Avenue (5200 North) Entrance and exit to I-94 West only.
43.52[3] 43A Wilson Avenue (4600 North)
43.32 43B (WB) Interstate 90 East (Kennedy Expressway) — Chicago Loop Also known as The Junction. EB I-94 joins I-90 traveling eastbound. Exits to eastbound express and local lanes. No access to westbound I-90 traveling eastbound (use Exit 41C, Cicero Avenue and Foster Avenue).
I-90/94 continues south as the Kennedy Expressway

Kennedy Expressway

See Interstate 90 in Illinois for exits on the Kennedy Expressway.

Dan Ryan Expressway

See Dan Ryan Expressway.

Bishop Ford Freeway

County Location[1] Mile[1] #[1] Destinations Notes
I-94 continues north onto the Dan Ryan Expressway
Cook Chicago 63.17 63 Interstate 57 South — Memphis, Tennessee Left exit on Bishop Ford Freeway. Northern terminus of Bishop Ford Freeway. Northern terminus of I-57. I-94 continues north onto the Dan Ryan Expressway.
64.59–
65.56		 65 WB (on NB Bishop Ford): Stony Island Avenue (1600 East), 103rd Street
EB (on connector): Stony Island Avenue (1600 East), To 95th and 103rd Streets		 Marked as "To U.S. Route 41 — Lake Shore Drive".
66.18 66A 111th Street Exit to Pullman Historic District
66.70 66B 115th Street
68.67 68A-B 130th Street Exit to Illinois International Port.
69.52 69 Beaubien Forest Preserve Eastbound exit, westbound entrance. Access to 134th Street.
69.91 Steel Bridge over the Calumet River
Calumet City 70.62 70A-B Dolton Avenue Eastbound exits, westbound entrances.
71.42 71A-B Illinois Route 83 — Sibley Boulevard (15000 South)
South Holland 72.96 73A-B U.S. Route 6 — 159th Street South Holland, Calumet City

While signed as 159th Street, U.S. 6 is 162nd Street in South Holland and River Oaks Drive in Calumet City
74.40 74A Illinois Route 394 South — Danville Southern terminus of Bishop Ford Freeway. Southern terminus of Tri-State Tollway and I-294. I-94 continues eastbound with I-80 onto the Kingery Expressway.
74.40 74B Interstates 80 West/294 North (Tri-State Tollway) — Iowa, Wisconsin
I-80/94 runs east onto the Kingery Expressway

Kingery Expressway

See Interstate 80 in Illinois for exits on the Kingery Expressway.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 
  2. ^ "North Tri-State Tollway (I-294/94) Rebuild and Widen Project". Illinois Tollway Authority. http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1403563&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL. Retrieved 2009-10-23. 
  3. ^ The survey point for the Wilson Avenue exit is located prior to the Edens/Kennedy split in Illinois' 2006 GIS data.
Interstate 94
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Wisconsin		 Illinois Next state:
Indiana