Interstate 55 in Illinois

This article is about the section of Interstate 55 in Illinois. For the entire route, see Interstate 55.

Interstate 55 marker

Interstate 55
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length: 294.38 mi[1] (473.76 km)
Major junctions
South end: I-55 / I-64 / US 40 at East St. Louis
 
North end: US 41 in Chicago
Highway system
IL 54IL 56

Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Illinois that connects the St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago metropolitan areas. It enters the state from Missouri on the Poplar Street Bridge near East St. Louis and runs to U.S. Route 41 (US 41, Lake Shore Drive) near downtown Chicago where the highway ends, a distance of 294.38 miles (473.76 km).[2] The Road also runs through the cities of Springfield, Bloomington, and Joliet. The section in Cook County is officially named the Stevenson Expressway.

Route description

I-55 within Illinois carries heavy traffic, with an average of more than 20,000 vehicles per day for most of its length.[3] Significant portions of I-55 contain six lanes (three lanes in each direction) and are heavily used by commuters.[4] I-55 in Illinois begins in East St. Louis on the Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River at the Missouri–Illinois state line[4] and runs southwest to northeast through the state, ending in Chicago at US 41 (Lake Shore Drive). Along the way, it goes through four metropolitan areas in the state: the Illinois portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, the Springfield metropolitan area, the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area, and the Chicago metropolitan area (also known as Chicagoland).[4]

I-55 enters the Chicago metro area as the Stevenson Expressway and provides easy access to downtown Chicago via both the I-90/I-94 (Dan Ryan Expressway) interchange and US 41 (Lake Shore Drive) at the northern terminus of I-55, near Cermak Road and the lakefront.

History

I-55 in Illinois is the fourth road to connect St. Louis and Chicago. The first was the Pontiac Trail in 1915. This was largely improved and paved as the new Illinois Route 4 (IL 4) by 1924.[5] In 1926, IL 4 was designated as the route of the new U.S 66, and a new section of US 66 was built to bypass slower sections of IL 4 south of Springfield by 1930. Through the 1950s US 66 was continually widened, straightened, and improved to handle its growing traffic, until its entire length was four lanes wide by 1957.[6]

The roots of I-55 could be traced back to the need of a national highway system.[7] President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw the need of a national network of highways that would help with the mobilization of the army. He had been impressed with the autobahn he saw in Germany during World War II. In 1956 he signed the Federal Aid Highway Act into existence.[7] Although the act provided for a highway replacing Route 66, it was spared destruction for a while because of it being more modern than other routes at the time.[7] Illinois would build its first new Interstate highways on other routes such as I-80, I-57, and I-70, before turning its attention once again to the St. Louis-to-Chicago route.

However, during the 1970s, Route 66 was finally replaced by I-55 as the fourth St. Louis-to-Chicago highway, serving most of the same communities along the way as the original Pontiac Trail. It was built in sections across Illinois, often on the original Route 66 roadbed. A common construction tactic where Route 66 was already four lanes wide, was to build new southbound lanes for I-55 west of the original road, then rebuild the original southbound lanes of US 66 to be the new northbound lanes for I-55, leaving the original northbound lanes of old US 66 as a two-way service road.[7] One can find many signs posted for Historic US 66, especially where it deviates from I-55.

The earliest stretch of I-55 was a portion of US 66 which had already been built as a freeway between Gardner and I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) in Indian Head Park, and which was added to the Interstate system by simply erecting new signs in 1960.[8] Later portions of the highway were built in the 1960s between East St. Louis and Hamel, as bypasses of Springfield and Bloomington-Normal.[9] The rest of the road was completed in the 1970s.

The Stevenson Expressway near Countryside, heading southwest

The Stevenson Expressway opened on October 24, 1964 as the Southwest Expressway. It was renamed after Adlai Stevenson,[10] the former governor of Illinois, on September 1, 1965, a month and a half after his death. The Stevenson's original termini were US 66 in DuPage County to the west, and the Dan Ryan Expressway to the east.

In 1999–2000, the expressway was completely rebuilt from Central Avenue north to Lake Shore Drive, including the ramps to the Dan Ryan. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) was criticized at the time for not adding a fourth lane in each direction to the highway.[11]

Recent upgrades and current construction

Because of the heavy traffic on I-55, IDOT must spend millions per year maintaining the roadway, adding lanes, and replacing bridges to increase the capacity of the highway.[12][13]

In northeastern Illinois near Joliet, a widening project that expanded I-55 from two to three lanes in each direction between I-80 (exit 250) and Weber Road (exit 263) was completed on October 29, 2008.[14]

In the 2000s decade, the Damen Avenue (exit 290) and Pulaski Road (exit 287) interchanges were rebuilt as a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) configuration; in 2014 reconstruction as a SPUI was completed for the Central Avenue (exit 285) interchange. The Arsenal Road (exit 245) interchange was under complete rebuilding and reconfiguration as of 2012, and the deteriorated overpass at IL 129 (exit 238) was removed in 2012 in anticipation of future construction of a full interchange, temporarily leaving the IL 129 interchange with only a northbound exit and northbound entrance.[15][16]

At St. Louis, the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge carrying I-70 across the Mississippi River, and costing $667 million, was completed in 2014 to relieve congestion on I-55's Poplar Street Bridge.[17][18]

Future

Governor Bruce Rauner, in early 2016, made a proposal to explore expanding the Stevenson Expressway portion of I-55 by adding an additional lane in each direction to ease congestion. Under his proposal, toll lanes would be constructed and operated through a potential private-public partnership.[19]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[20]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Mississippi River0.000.00Poplar Street Bridge
I-55 south / I-64 west / US 40 west continues into Missouri
St. ClairEast St. Louis IL 3 south / Great River Road south CahokiaSouthern end of IL 3/GRR overlap
13th Street, Tudor Avenue
1 IL 15 (Barack Obama Avenue) East St. Louis Business DistrictNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
2AThird Street Eads BridgeSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
2BCMartin Luther King Bridge Downtown St. LouisSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; left exit is signed as exit 2B and right exit as 2C
2 I-64 east / I-70 west / IL 3 north (St. Clair Avenue) Louisville, Kansas CityNorthern end of I-64/IL 3 overlap; Southern end of I-70 overlap; no access to westbound I-70 eastbound
3Exchange AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
 4 IL 203 / Collinsville Road Fairmont City, Granite CitySigned as exits 4A (south) and 4B (north) southbound
MadisonFairmont City6 IL 111 / Great River Road north Wood River, Washington ParkNorthern end of GRR overlap
Collinsville9Black LaneNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
10 I-255 to I-270 Memphis
11 IL 157 Collinsville, Edwardsville
Maryville15 IL 159 Collinsville, MaryvilleSigned as exits 15A (south) and 15B (north)
 17 US 40 east St. Jacob, HighlandNorthern end of US 40 overlap
Troy18 IL 162 Troy
 20A I-70 east IndianapolisNorthern end of I-70 overlap
 20B I-270 west Kansas City
 23 IL 143 Edwardsville, Marine
Hamel30 IL 140 Alton, Greenville
 33 IL 4 Staunton, Lebanon
Livingston37Livingston, New Douglas
Macoupin 41Staunton
White City44 IL 138 Mount Olive, Benld
MontgomeryLitchfield52 IL 16 Gillespie, Litchfield
 60 IL 108 Carlinville
 63 IL 48 / IL 127 Raymond, Taylorville, Hillsboro
Farmersville72Farmersville, Girard
SangamonDivernon80Divernon
 82 IL 104 Pawnee, Auburn
 83Glenarm
Springfield88East Lake Drive Chatham
90Toronto Road
92A I-55 Bus. north (6th Street)
92B I-72 west / US 36 west JacksonvilleSouthern end of I-72/US 36 overlap
94Stevenson Drive, East Lake Drive
96 IL 29 (South Grand Avenue) TaylorvilleSigned as exits 96A (south) and 96B (north)
98A I-72 east / US 36 east DecaturNorthern end of I-72/US 36 overlap
98B IL 97 west (Clear Lake Avenue)
100 IL 54 east (Sangamon Avenue) ClintonSigned as exits 100A (east) and 100B (west)
Sherman105 I-55 Bus. south Springfield, Sherman
Williamsville109 IL 123 Williamsville, Petersburg
LoganElkhart115Elkhart
 119Broadwell
 123 I-55 Bus. north Lincoln
Lincoln126 IL 10 / IL 121 Lincoln, Mason City
 127 I-155 north PeoriaSouth end of I-155, exits 0A-B.
 133 I-55 Bus. south Lincoln, Lawndale
 140Atlanta, Lawndale
McLean 145 US 136 McLean, Heyworth
 154Shirley
 157A I-74 east / US 51 south Indianapolis, DecaturSouthern end of I-74/US 51 overlap
Bloomington157B I-55 Bus. north (Veterans Parkway)Signed as exit 134B (north) southbound
160 US 150 / IL 9 (Market Street) Pekin
 163 I-74 west PeoriaNorthern end of I-74 overlap
 164 I-39 north / US 51 north RockfordNorthern end of US 51 overlap
Normal165
US 51 Bus. Bloomington-Normal
Signed as exits 165A (south) and 165B (north) northbound
167 I-55 Bus. south (Veterans Parkway) Central Illinois Regional Airport
 171Towanda
Lexington178Lexington
Chenoa187 US 24 El Paso, Chenoa
Livingston 197 IL 116 Flanagan, Pontiac
 201 IL 23 Pontiac, Streator
 209Odell
Dwight217 IL 17 Streator, Kankakee
Grundy 220 IL 47 Dwight, Morris
 227 IL 53 Gardner
GrundyWill county line 233Reed Road Braidwood
Will 236 IL 113 Kankakee, Coal City
 238 IL 129 south (Will Rogers Highway) BraidwoodNorthbound exit and northbound entrance
 240Lorenzo Road
 241Wilmington
 244Arsenal Road
 247Bluff Road
Channahon248 US 6 Joliet, Morris
 250 I-80 Iowa, IndianaI-80 exits 126A-B; signed as exits 250A (east) & 250B (west).
Shorewood251 IL 59 north (Will Rogers Highway) / Historic US 66 alt. Shorewood, PlainfieldNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
ShorewoodJoliet city line253 US 52 Joliet, Shorewood
Joliet257 US 30 Aurora, Joliet
Plainfield261 IL 126 west (Will Rogers Highway, Main Street) / Historic US 66 alt. PlainfieldSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
RomeovilleBolingbrook city line263Weber Road
Bolingbrook267 IL 53 Bolingbrook, Romeoville
268 Historic US 66 west (Will Rogers Highway, Joliet Road)Southbound exit and northbound entrance
269 I-355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway) – Northwest Suburbs, Southwest SuburbsI-355 exits 12A-B.
DuPageDarien271Lemont RoadSigned as exits 271A (south) and 271B (north)
273Cass AvenueSigned as exits 273A (south) and 273B (north)
WillowbrookBurr Ridge city line274 IL 83 (Kingery Hwy)
DuPageCook county lineBurr Ridge276.43444.87276County Line RoadSigned as exits 276A (south) and 276B (north)
CookIndian Head Park277.08445.92276C Historic US 66 east (Will Rogers Highway, Joliet Road)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Indian Head ParkCountryside city line277.64446.82277 I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) Indiana, WisconsinSigned as exits 277A (north) and 277B (south); southbound exit to I-294 south is via exit 279A
CountrysideHodgkins city line278.99448.99279 US 12 / US 20 / US 45 (La Grange Road)Signed as exits 279A (east/south) and 279B (west/north)
Summit282.32454.35282 IL 171 (1st Avenue)Signed as exits 282A (south) and 282B (north) northbound
SummitChicago city line283.19455.75283 IL 43 (Harlem Avenue (7200 West))
Chicago285.93460.16285Central Avenue (5600 West)
286.96461.82286 IL 50 (Cicero Avenue (4800 West)) Chicago Midway Airport
287.98463.46287Pulaski Road (4000 West)
289.00465.10288Kedzie Avenue (3200 West)Southbound exit and northbound entrance
289.52465.94289California Avenue (2800 West)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
290.05–
290.07
466.79–
466.82
290Damen Avenue (2000 West)
290Ashland Avenue (1600 West)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
292.63470.94292 I-90 / I-94 (Dan Ryan Expressway) Indiana, WisconsinSigned as exits 292A (west) and 292B (east) northbound, and as exits 292 (west) and 293B (east) southbound
293.00471.54293ACermak Road Chinatown (2200 South)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
293.22471.89293CState Street (0 East/West)Southbound exit and northbound entrance
293.67472.62293DMartin L. King Drive (400 East)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
294.38473.76 US 41 (Lake Shore Drive)Northern end of freeway; northbound exit to and southbound exit from Lake Shore Drive
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related routes

Auxiliary routes

I-55 has three auxiliary routes in Illinois:

Springfield business loop

Interstate 55 Business
Location: Springfield

Business Loop 55 refers to a major arterial surface street that serves downtown Springfield, Illinois. It runs north from the intersection of Interstates 55 and Interstate 72 through downtown to Illinois Route 4 (Veterans' Parkway). It then runs northeast to Sherman.[21]

All of Business Loop 55 was part of U.S. Route 66 at some point.

Major junctions
The entire route is in Sangamon County.

Locationmi[22]kmDestinationsNotes
Springfield0.0–
0.7
0.0–
1.1
I-55 / I-72 / US 36 Jacksonville, Decatur, Chicago, St. LouisExit 92A (I-55), Exit 97B (I-72)
4.97.9 IL 97 north (Jefferson Street)
5.08.0 IL 97 south (Madison Street)
7.011.3 IL 29 (Sangamon Avenue)Southern end of IL 29 concurrency
8.012.9 IL 4 south / IL 29 north (Veterans Parkway) Abraham Lincoln Capital AirportNorthern end of IL 29 concurrency, northern terminus of IL 4
Sherman12.119.5 IL 124 west (Andrew Road) Andrew, AthensEastern terminus of IL 124
12.720.4 I-55 south SpringfieldExit 105 (I-55), no access to I-55 northbound from this point
Williams Township13.922.4 I-55 north ChicagoOnly access to I-55 northbound
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Lincoln business loop

Interstate 55 Business
Location: Lincoln

Bloomington–Normal business loop

Interstate 55 Business
Location: BloomingtonNormal

References

  1. Adderly, Kevin (October 31, 2002). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. OCLC 47914009. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  2. MapPoint (Map). Microsoft. 2002.
  3. 2011 Average Daily Total Traffic (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Cartography by Office of Planning and Programming. Illinois Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "I-55". Illinois Highway Ends. Self-published. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  5. Illinois Official Auto Trails Map (Map). c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000. Illinois Automobile Department. 1924. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  6. Illinois Official Highway Map (Map). 1:805,000. Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Illinois Division of Highways. 1957. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Stork, Peter (2008). "History: Alignments and Bypasses". Digital Route 66. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008.
  8. Illinois Official Highway Map (Map). 1:790,000. Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Illinois Division of Highways. 1960. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  9. Illinois Official Highway Map (Map). 1:772,500. Cartography by Rand McNally. Illinois Division of Highways. 1969. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  10. Municipal Reference Collection (August 1997). "1964 Southwest Expressway Opened September 1, 1965—Renamed Adlai E. Stevenson Expressway". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007.
  11. Hilkevitch, John (March 26, 2006). "Buckle Up, It Looks like a Long Ride". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2006.
  12. "I-55 Resurfacing Work". The Herald News (Joliet, IL). May 24, 2002.
  13. Cain, Cindy Wojdyla (April 22, 2005). "Interstate Overhaul 55 and 80: 'Tight Cloverleaf' to Be Redone Starting in May". The Herald News (Joliet, IL).
  14. "Governor Blagojevich Announces Completion of Interstate 55 Widening Project: I-55 Corridor Improvement Project Added One Lane in Each Direction from Weber Rd to I-80; Goal Is to Increase Safety and Reduce Congestion" (Press release). Office of the Governor. October 29, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  15. "Southbound I-55 Ramp Closure in Wilmington" (PDF) (Press release). Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  16. "I-55 Wilmington Study". Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  17. "New Bridge May Mean Tolls on All Mississippi Bridges Here Making Motorists Pay Is a Last Resort But a Possibility, Officials Say". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 6, 1999.
  18. "New Mississippi River Bridge Opens to Traffic". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 9, 2014.
  19. "Gov. Rauner Pushes to Develop Toll Lanes on I-55". Chicago: WMAQ-TV. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  20. Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  21. General Highway Map: Sangamon County, Illinois (PDF) (Map). Illinois Department of Transportation. February 20, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  22. Google (January 2, 2013). "Interstate 55 Business (Springfield)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 2, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 55 in Illinois.

Route map: Bing / Google

Interstate 55
Previous state:
Missouri
Illinois Next state:
Terminus
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