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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Signed County Route J37; the last Signed Tulare County Route and the Lone Pine to Porterville High Sierra Road

Recently I drove the entirety of Signed County Route J37 located in rural Tulare County. Signed County Route J37 is notable in that it is the last Signed County Route which actually has field signage left in Tulare County and was intended to be part of a Trans-Sierra Highway known as the Lone Pine to Porterville High Sierra Road.

While researching California State Route 190 and more specifically the gap in the highway over the Sierra Nevada Range it became quickly apparent that there was far more to J37/Balch Park Road than initially thought. The previous blog on California State Route 190 can be found here:

California State Route 190; the Trans-Sierra Highway that could have been

On the above blog I attached an article from 1926 written by the Los Angeles Times detailing the route of the Lone Pine to Porterville High Sierra Road which was slated to begin construction in 1927. The route of the Lone Pine to Porterville High Sierra Road would have followed Carroll Creek southward out…

Paper Highways of the Mojave Desert and San Gabriel Mountains; CA 48 (ii), CA 122, CA 196, and CA 249

In this edition Paper Highways the planned California State Highways of the Mojave Desert and San Gabriel Mountains are explored. This issue will cover the planned routes of; the second CA 48, CA 122, CA 196, and CA 249.

Part 1; the wholesale Legislative Route adoptions of 1959

CA 48, CA 122, CA 196, and CA 249 prior to the 1964 State Highway Renumbering all were adopted as planned Legislative Routes ("LRN") in 1959. Part of the planned LRN 267 west of Lancaster was already part of the existing CA 138 on LRN 59. CA 48 east of Lancaster was planned as LRN 267 which was to have an eastern terminus at LRN 266. LRN 266 was planned to originate from CA 2/LRN 61 near La Canada Flintridge and cross north/northeast over the San Gabriel Mountains into the Mojave Desert near Palmdale. LRN 266 was planned to continue northeast from Palmdale to former US 466/LRN 48 near Hawes. LRN 266 became CA 249 and CA 122 during the 1964 State Highway Renumbering. LRN 269 was planned to be rou…

Old California State Route 65 on; Famoso-Porterville Highway, Sign County Routes J35/J22/J29

Earlier in March I traveled down to Famoso of Kern County to take the original alignment of California State Route 65 north to Lindsay in Tulare County.

This blog is a spin off of the below entry on the Southern Segment of current California State Route 65.

California State Route 65; South Segment

Part 1; The Stockton-Los Angeles Road, the East Side Line, and early California State Route 65 on Legislative Route 129

The corridor of CA 65 is closely aligned to the Sierra Nevada Foothills which first became a popular route of travel as part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road came into use after the 1853 Kern River Gold Rush began. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road was a replacement of the earlier El Camino Viejo. Unlike El Camino Viejo the Stockton-Los Angeles Road avoided the dense Tule Marshes in San Joaquin Valley. The Stockton-Los Angles Road stayed close to the Sierra Foothills near the new claims on the Kern River watershed. The earlier El Camino Vi…

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