Interstate 90 in Illinois

Infobox road
state=IL
type=I
route=90
maint=Illinois Department of Transportation

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length_mi=123.89
length_round=2
length_ref=
year_established=
direction_a=West
terminus_a=Jct|state=WI|I|90 at Wisconsin state line
junction=Jct|state=IL|I|39 in Rockford
Jct|state=IL|I|290 in Schaumburg
Jct|state=IL|I|294 in Rosemont
Jct|state=IL|I|94 in Chicago
Jct|state=IL|I|55 in Chicago
direction_b=East
terminus_b=Jct|state=IN|I|90 at Indiana state line
previous_route=89
previous_type=IL
next_route=90
next_type=ILIn the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 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).cite web |url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table1.htm |title=Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002 |date=2002-10-31 |accessdate=2007-01-29 |author=Federal Highway Administration]

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. [ cite web | url=http://tollroadsnews.info/artman/publish/article_969.shtml | title= Toll Road News, Chicago Skyway] See List of gaps in Interstate Highways for more information.

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)

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.

Exit list

References