Interstate 90 in Illinois

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Interstate 90
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 123.89 mi (199 km)
West end: I-90 at Wisconsin state line
Major
junctions:		 I-39 in Rockford
I-290 (IL) in Schaumburg
I-294 in Rosemont
I-94 in Chicago
I-55 in Chicago
East end: I-90 at Indiana state line
Illinois state highway system
< IL 89 IL 90 >

In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 90 (normally called I-90) runs roughly northwest through the northern end of the state, from the Indiana border to Wisconsin. I-90 traverses a variety of settings, from farmland west of the Fox River Valley to medium-density suburban west of O'Hare International Airport, to the heart of the industrial southeast side of Chicago before entering Indiana. This is a distance of 108.5 net miles (173.5 km).[1]

Contents

[edit] Route description

Interstate 90 enters from Wisconsin with Interstate 39. At the U.S. Route 51 exit, I-39/90 becomes the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway. The two Interstates run south to Rockford, where I-39 continues south (as a freeway) to La Salle/Peru. I-90 continues southeast along the tollway through the Chicago area. In Schaumburg, I-90 meets the western end of Interstate 290, the only loop from I-90 in Illinois.

I-90 passes O'Hare International Airport, where Interstate 190, the only spur of I-90 in Illinois, branches west to the airport terminals. I-90 continues southeast as the Kennedy Expressway (a freeway) and is later joined with eastbound Interstate 94 - westbound I-94 runs on the Edens Expressway. I-90/94 then passes through the city, intersecting the eastern end of I-290 just west of the Chicago Loop. South of I-290, the highway is given the name of the Dan Ryan Expressway.

In Chicago's South Side, I-90 splits off from I-94 and becomes the Chicago Skyway, again becoming a toll road. I-90 then runs directly southeast to the Indiana state line, and becomes the Indiana Toll Road at the state line.

Often confusing to non-residents is the direction system for I-90/94, in which signs that say "I-90/94 West" go north/northwest and signs that say "I-90/94 East" go south/southeast. This naming system is due to the overall direction of the expressway. I-90/94 West goes north, splits into I-94 and I-90, continues north to Wisconsin, and then goes west, I-90 going to Seattle. I-90/94 East goes south, splitting into two pieces, and then turns northeast, I-90 ending in Boston.

There is some dispute as to whether the Chicago Skyway is an official part of the Interstate highway system. The city of Chicago replaced many I-90 shields to "TO I-90" when it determined that the city may have never applied for Interstate designation for the skyway. However, the Federal Highway Administration considers the Skyway as being part of I-90, and the Illinois DOT has always and continues to report it as such.[2] See List of gaps in Interstate Highways for more information.

[edit] Lane configuration

Interstate 90 runs through downtown Chicago, resulting in some odd lane configurations:

From north to south:

  • Wisconsin state line to Elgin -- 4 lanes (2 lanes in each direction)
  • Elgin to Tri-State Tollway (I-294) -- 6 lanes (3 lanes each way) - 3 + 2 C/D lanes each way around the I-290 / IL-53 Interchange and 3 to 4 lanes each way near the I-294 / I-190 Interchange
  • Tri-State Tollway to Edens Expressway (I-94) -- 6 lanes (3 lanes each way)
  • Edens Junction to Ohio Street -- 10 lanes (2 reversible, 4 westbound, 4 eastbound)
  • Ohio Street to Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290) -- 10 lanes (5 westbound, 5 eastbound)
  • At the Eisenhower Expressway -- 6 lanes (3 westbound, 3 eastbound)
  • From the Eisenhower Expressway to the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) -- 10 lanes (5 eastbound, 5 westbound)
  • From the Stevenson Expressway to the 47th Street Slip -- 14 lanes (express: 4 lanes each way, local: 3 lanes each way)
  • Between the 47th Street and 51st Street Slip Ramps -- 14 lanes (express: 3 lanes each way, local: 4 lanes each way)
  • 51st Street to the Chicago Skyway (Interstate 90) -- 14 (same configuration as north of 47th, although one eastbound express lane transitions into the Skyway slip).
  • Entire stretch of Chicago Skyway to Indiana -- 6 lanes (3 lanes each way)

[edit] Auxiliary routes

  • I-190 - a spur in to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
  • I-290 - a southwest dogleg left route accessing the west suburbs and heading east into downtown Chicago. Also known as the Eisenhower Expressway.


[edit] Exit list

County Location Mile # Destinations Notes
See Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
Cook Rosemont I-294 north (Tri-State Tollway) – Milwaukee
78 I-294 south (Tri-State Tollway) / I-190 west – Indiana, O'Hare Airport No exit number eastbound
Chicago
See Kennedy Expressway
51H I-290 west (Eisenhower Expressway) – West Suburbs
51I Congress Parkway – Chicago Loop Signed as exit 51H westbound
See Dan Ryan Expressway
I-94 east (Dan Ryan Expressway) – Indiana East end of I-94 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
See Chicago Skyway

[edit] References

  1. ^ Federal Highway Administration (2002-10-31). Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
  2. ^ Toll Road News, Chicago Skyway.


Interstate 90
Previous state:
Wisconsin		 Illinois Next state:
Indiana