Northern Terminus of Interstate 55 on the Stevenson Expressway in Chicago

This past April while returning to Chicago I used the north terminus of Interstate 55 on the Stevenson Expressway to reach US 41 on Lake Shore Drive.

I-55 is one of the major north/south Interstates spanning 964.25 miles from I-10 in LaPlace, LA north to US 41 in Chicago, IL. I-55 within Cook County is a free limited access facility known as the Stevenson Expressway. While I-55 is a north/south Interstate within the Chicago Area it essentially is a east/west route that largely serves as the functional replacement of US Route 66. I-55 on the Stevenson Expressway opened to traffic as the Southwest Expressway between the DuPage County Line east to the Dan Ryan Expressway in (I-90/I-94) in Chicago in 1964. At least by 1970 the route of I-55 had been extended to Lake Shore Drive and had been renamed the Stevenson Expressway as evidenced from this Chicago Area Expressway Map.

1970 Chicago Expressway Map

My approach to I-55 in Chicago began on I-90/94 west on the Dan Ryan Expressway heading northward into downtown Chicago.

I-55 northbound traffic is directed to take Exit 53C. Exit 53C signage advises traffic can access 22nd Street and US 41 on Lake Shore Drive.

I-55 northbound on the Stevenson Expressway heads directly east (weird to think of in geographic terms) towards Lake Michigan. Before Lake Shore Drive there is access via Exit 293D to Martin L. King Drive.

I-55 north on the Stevenson Expressway terminates at US 41 on Lake Shore Drive.

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