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.

Comments

Where the hell is Hill Valley? (US Route 8 south/US Route 395 east)

Recently I made a visit to Universal Studios near Los Angeles. While on the back lot tour I came across a piece of infamous movie-borne fictional highway infamy; the location of town square of Hill Valley, California on US Route 8/US Route 395.

The above photo is part of the intro scene to the first Back-to-the-Future movie which was set in 1985. To anyone who follows roadways the signage error of US 8 meeting US 395 in California is an immediately notable error. For one; US 8 doesn't even exist anywhere near California with present alignment being signed as an east/west highway between Norway, Michigan and Forest Lake, Minnesota. To make matters worse US 8 is signed as a southbound route and US 395 (a north/south highway) is signed as an eastbound route. At minimum the cut-out US 8 and US 395 shields somewhat resemble what Caltrans used in the 1980s.

Assuming Hill Valley is located on what would have been US 395 by 1985 what locales would be a viable real world analog? US 39…

The Arroyo Seco Parkway and early terminus points of US Route 66 in Los Angeles

This past month I visited the original terminus of US Route 66 on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles and drove the entirety of the Arroyo Seco Parkway to Pasadena.

The Arroyo Seco Parkway is a 8.162 mile section of freeway which traverses from the Four-Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles north/northeast following the Arroyo Seco to Pasadena. The Arroyo Seco Parkway is currently designated as part of California State Route 110 but is more widely known as being a classic component of US Route 66. While US 66 used the entirety of the Arroyo Seco Parkway the freeway also carried US 6, US 99 and CA 11 at different points throughout it's long history. The Arroyo Seco Parkway is the oldest freeway in the western United States and depending on the definition used it can be considered the oldest in the United States.

Before the Arroyo Seco Parkway travel between Pasadena and Los Angeles on US 66 was routed on surface roads that largely avoided the Arroyo Seco. Prior to 1933 the Dep…

"Governor Hunt Cuts Ribbon on Doomsday" - The drawnout legal battle to build the I-95 Fayetteville Bypass

It is Monday, December 15, 1980. North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt and many other dignitaries take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony opening a new 17 mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Cumberland County. The new road bypasses Fayetteville to the east and completes Interstate 95 in North Carolina - closing a significant gap in what many consider the backbone highway of the East Coast. The new road moved Interstate traffic from an at-grade, four lane US 301 lined with numerous motels and restaurants onto a fully controlled and traffic light-free limited access freeway.

Meanwhile at a Quality Inn along US 301 in Fayetteville, a billboard read "Governor Hunt Cuts Ribbon on Doomsday."(1)

The ribbon cutting put an end to over a decade long heated battle over the routing of Interstate 95 around Fayetteville. One that made it all the way to the steps of the United States Supreme Court.

Interstate 95 in North Carolina History:

The 181 mile Interstate 95 has a unique story in Nort…

Gribblenation

Search This Blog