Interstate 90 in Illinois

Interstate 90
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap I-90 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ISTHA, IDOT, and SCC
Length	107.82 mi[1] (173.52 km)
Major junctions
West end	I-39 / I-90 at Wisconsin state line
	I-39 Toll / US 51 in Cherry Valley I-290 / IL 53 in Rolling Meadows I-294 Toll in Rosemont I-190 in Chicago I-94 in Chicago I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Chicago I-55 in Chicago I-94 / Chicago Skyway in Chicago
East end	I-90 / Indiana Toll Road at Indiana state line
Location
Counties	Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Kane, Cook
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Illinois State Highway System Interstate US State Tollways ← IL 89 → IL 90

Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Illinois runs roughly northwest-to-southeast through the northern part of the state. From the Wisconsin state line at South Beloit, it heads south to Rockford before heading east-southeast to the Indiana state line at Chicago. I-90 traverses 108 miles (174 km) through a variety of settings, from farmland west of the Fox River Valley through the medium-density suburbs west of O'Hare International Airport, through downtown Chicago, and through the heart of the industrial southeast side of Chicago before entering Indiana.

I-90 comprises several named highways. The Interstate runs along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (previously called the Northwest Tollway) from South Beloit to O'Hare Airport, the Kennedy Expressway runs from O'Hare to the Chicago Loop, the Dan Ryan Expressway from the Loop to the Chicago Skyway, and the Skyway to the Indiana state line. The Jane Addams and Chicago Skyway are toll roads maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) and the Skyway Concession Company (SCC) respectively. The remainder of the highway is maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Route description[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (July 2019)

I-90 enters from Beloit, Wisconsin, with I-39. U.S. Route 51 (US 51) joins at exit 1. At the Rockton Road exit, I-39/I-90/US 51 becomes the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway. The two Interstates and the U.S Route run concurrently south to Cherry Valley, passing by Rock Cut State Park. At Chery Valley, I-39/US 51 continues as a freeway south to Bloomington–Normal. I-90 makes a 90º turn and continues east and crosses the Kishwaukee River before entering Boone County.^{[citation needed]}

I-90 heads east and then turns southeast and crosses under US 20 and then turns east.

The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway features an Illinois Tollway oasis in Belvidere, an over-highway oasis. This unique rest stop provides several vendors and allows tollway travelers to rest, refuel, and eat without having to exit the tollway. Another oasis was previously sited in Des Plaines near O'Hare, but it was closed and demolished in 2014 to make room for the widening of I-90 and the O'Hare West Bypass.^[2]

After the oasis, I-90 has an interchange with Genoa Road and turns southeast towards McHenry County. I-90 does not have another interchange until IL 23. This interchange gap is 11 miles (18 km) long.^{[citation needed]}

I-90 has a short segment in McHenry County but does have an interchange at IL 23. The route heads southeast in the entire county passing by farms. I-90 heads toward Kane County in this direction.^{[citation needed]}

I-90 heads southeast and has an interchange with US 20, then it continues southeast toward the Elgin Toll Plaza. It widens to eight lanes and enters the Chicago suburbs at Randall Road and turns due east for 9.2 miles (14.8 km). I-90 crosses the Fox River before entering Cook County.^{[citation needed]}

I-90 enters heading due east and passes by housing areas and shopping centers. It then passes north of a forest preserve with active traffic management gantries appearing after crossing under Barrington Road. I-90 then turns southeast toward O'Hare International Airport. In Schaumburg, I-90 meets the western end of I-290, the only loop from I-90 in Illinois. I-90 then turns slightly to the south after the interchange and widens to five lanes in each direction after I-290. At Elmhurst Road, I-90 narrows down to four lanes in each direction and turns slightly to the northeast. It then goes through the areas north of O'Hare International toward Rosemont and I-190/I-294.^{[citation needed]}

Interstates 90 and 94 approaching Interstate 55.

After the I-190/I-294 interchange, I-90 becomes a freeway called the Kennedy Expressway heading due east. It then turns southeast and meets I-94. I-90/I-94 then turns south and meets the east end of I-290 and the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway. After the interchange, The Kennedy Expressway becomes the Dan Ryan Expressway and meets I-55. I-90 splits from I-94 at Englewood and becomes the Chicago Skyway with three lanes in each direction, turning southeast. It then crosses the Calumet River and continues into Indiana.^{[citation needed]}

History[]

The Jane Addams Tollway in Schaumburg prior to the 2015-16 rebuild and widening

Jane Addams Memorial Tollway[]

The 76-mile (122 km) Northwest Tollway portion of I-90 opened on August 20, 1958.^[3] Prior to the opening, the first vehicle to officially travel the new roadway was a covered wagon navigated by local resident John Madsen who took 5 days to make the journey.^[4]

On September 7, 2007, highway officials responding to an effort by state lawmakers renamed the Northwest Tollway to Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, after Jane Addams, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Settlement House movement in the United States.^[5][6]

The Illinois Tollway's 2005–2012 Congestion-Relief Program provided $644.1 million in improvements to the I-90 corridor.^[7] Projects included rebuilding and widening of the tollway between I-39 and Rockton Road, including a reconfiguration of the I-90/I-39 interchange to improve traffic flow. This construction started in 2008 and was completed by the end of 2009.^[8]

From 2013 to 2016, over $2 billion was spent on rebuilding and widening the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway from I-39 to the Kennedy Expressway. The inside shoulders were widened for future transit opportunities, and active traffic management was incorporated into the corridor from IL 59 to the eastern end.^[9][10] In addition, almost all of the crossroad bridges were rebuilt and several interchanges were reconfigured/expanded.^[11] In 2019, a $33.4 million interchange with IL 23 was added near Marengo to provide the first I-90 interchange in McHenry County.^[12]

Until 1978, I-90 was routed on the Congress Street Expressway (later named the Eisenhower Expressway) which was extended from the Loop to the intersection of the Northwest Tollway and IL 53. The Kennedy Expressway was signed only as I-94, and the portion of present-day I-90 between the Edens Expressway and IL 53 was not signed as an Interstate Highway. This provided a non-toll section of I-90 between downtown Chicago and IL 53. The route designations were changed to their present form when I-90 was moved to follow the entire length of the Kennedy Expressway and the Jane Addams Tollway, and the original route was designated I-290.

In 2018, ISTHA raised the speed limit on I-90 from 65 to 70 miles per hour (105 to 113 km/h) from the I-39 split to Randall Road. They also raised it from 55 to 70 miles per hour (89 to 113 km/h) from Randall Road to Mount Prospect Road and raised the limit from Mount Prospect Road to the Kennedy was raised from 55 to 60 miles per hour (89 to 97 km/h). The speed limit for buses is 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), and the speed limit for trucks is 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).^[13]

Chicago Skyway[]

Chicago Skyway in 1999

The Chicago Skyway was originally known as the Calumet Skyway.^[14] It cost $101 million (1958, $791 million in 2011) to construct and took about 34 months (nearly 3 years) to build. Nearly 8 miles (13 km) of elevated roadway, the Chicago Skyway was originally built as a shortcut from State Street, a major north-south street on Chicago's South Side that serves the Loop, to the steel mills on the Southeast to the Indiana state line where the Indiana Toll Road begins. Later, when the Dan Ryan Expressway opened, the Chicago Skyway was extended west to connect to it. There are only two eastbound exits east of the toll barrier, whereas there are four westbound exits west of the toll barrier (so that no exits are available until one has crossed the bridge and paid the toll). The Chicago Skyway opened to traffic on April 16, 1958.^[14][15]

The Skyway's official name, referring to it as a "toll bridge" rather than a "toll road", is the result of a legal quirk. At the time of its construction, the city charter of Chicago did not provide the authority to construct a toll road. However, the city could build toll bridges, and it was found that there was no limit to the length of the approaches to the bridge. Therefore, the Skyway is technically a toll bridge spanning the Calumet River with a six-mile-long (9.7 km) approach. This also is part of the reason that there are no exits available until after one has crossed the bridge and paid the toll.^[16]

Historically, the Chicago Skyway was signed as, and was widely considered to be part of, I-90 from the mid-1960s forward (after I-90 in this area had been swapped with I-94). However, around 1999, the City of Chicago realized they had never received official approval to designate the Skyway as I-90. The city subsequently replaced most of the "I-90" signage with "TO I-90/I-94" signage. However, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has always and continues to report the Skyway as part of the Interstate Highway System, and the Federal Highway Administration also considers the Chicago Skyway an official part of I-90.^[17]

In the 1960s, the newly constructed Dan Ryan Expressway and the neighboring Calumet Expressway, Kingery Expressway and Borman Expressway provided free alternatives to the tollway, and the Skyway became much less used. As a result, from the 1970s through the early 1990s, the Skyway was unable to repay revenue bonds used in its construction.^[18] Traffic volumes rebounded from the late 1990s onward, partially because of the construction of casinos in Northwest Indiana, along with reconstruction of the Dan Ryan, Kingery and Borman Expressways.^[19] In June 2005, the Skyway became compatible with electronic toll collection, with users now able to pay tolls using I-PASS or E-ZPass transponders.^[20]

Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation formerly maintained the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System. A transaction that gave the city a $1.83 billion cash infusion leased the Skyway to the Skyway Concession Company, a joint-venture between the Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Spanish Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte S.A., which assumed operations on the Skyway on a 99-year operating lease. The agreement between SCC and the city of Chicago marked the first time an existing toll road was moved from public to private operation in the United States.^[21]

Exit list[]

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Winnebago	South Beloit	0.00	0.00		I-39 north / I-90 west – Madison	Continuation into Wisconsin
		0.29	0.47	1	US 51 north / IL 75 – South Beloit	Western end of US 51 overlap
	Rockton	2.71	4.36	3	CR 9 (Rockton Road)	Northwestern end of Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
		3.60	5.79	South Beloit Toll Plaza 1
	Rockford	8.94	14.39	8	IL 173 (West Lane Road) – Machesney Park	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps pay toll
		12.47	20.07	12	CR 55 west (East Riverside Boulevard)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps pay toll
		15.76	25.36	15	US 20 Bus. (State Street)
	Cherry Valley	17.40	28.00	17	I-39 south / US 51 south to US 20 – Bloomington	Eastern end of I-39/US 51 overlap; to Chicago Rockford International Airport via US 20 west
Boone	Belvidere	20.40	32.83	20	Irene Road	I-Pass only on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
		22.93	36.90	Belvidere Toll Plaza 5 (westbound)
		23.51	37.84	Belvidere Oasis
		24.62	39.62	25	Belvidere–Genoa Road	Exit ramps pay toll
McHenry	Riley	36.10	58.10	36	IL 23 – Marengo, Genoa	I-Pass only on exit and westbound entrance ramps
		37.39	60.17	Marengo Toll Plaza 7 (eastbound)
Kane	Hampshire	41.54	66.85	42	US 20 – Hampshire, Marengo
	Huntley	46.02	74.06	47	IL 47 – Huntley, Woodstock, Elburn	I-Pass only
	Elgin	51.78	83.33	52	CR 34 (Randall Road)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps pay toll
		53.42	85.97	Elgin Toll Plaza 9
		54.22	87.26	54	IL 31 (State Street, 8th Street) – Elgin	Signed as exits 54A (south) and 54B (north); westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps pay toll
Kane–Cook county line		55.95	90.04	56	IL 25 (Dundee Avenue)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps pay toll
Cook	Hoffman Estates	57.77	92.97	58	Beverly Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; westbound exit ramp pay toll
		59.31	95.45	59	IL 59 (Sutton Road)	Exit ramps pay toll
		61.81	99.47	62	Barrington Road	I-Pass only on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
	Schaumburg	65.19	104.91	65	Roselle Road	I-Pass only on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps; westbound entrance ramp via Central Road
		66.93	107.71	67	Meacham Road	I-Pass only; westbound exit and entrance; no access from I-290 and IL 53 ramp
	Rolling Meadows	67.84	109.18	68	I-290 east / IL 53 to I-355 Toll south / IL 390 – Chicago, West Suburbs, Northwest Suburbs	Signed as exits 68A (east/south) and 68B (north); eastbound exit ramp pay toll; western terminus of I-290
	Arlington Heights	70.47	113.41	70	Arlington Heights Road	Toll on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
	Des Plaines	73.25	117.88	73	Elmhurst Road to IL 83	I-Pass only on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
				74	I-490 Toll south (Western O'Hare Beltway)	Currently under construction; expected to be complete in 2023
		75.80	121.99	76	IL 72 (Lee Street)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Rosemont	76.75	123.52	Devon Avenue Toll Plaza 17 (westbound)
		77.03	123.97	—	IL 72 (Higgins Road) / Devon Avenue	Westbound entrance
		77.20	124.24	77A	I-294 Toll south (Tri-State Tollway) – Indiana I-190 west (Kennedy Expressway) – O'Hare	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-190 exit 1C; I-294 north exit 40
				77B	I-294 Toll north (Tri-State Tollway) – Milwaukee	Signed as exit 77 westbound; I-294 south exit 40B
		78.20	125.85	River Road Toll Plaza 19 (eastbound)
	Chicago	78.65	126.57	78	I-190 west (Kennedy Expressway) to I-294 Toll south (Tri-State Tollway) / River Road / Mannheim Road – O'Hare, Indiana	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastern terminus of I-190; southeastern end of Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
		79.28	127.59	79	IL 171 south (Cumberland Avenue)	Signed as exits 79A (south) and 79B (north)
		79.99	128.73	80	Canfield Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		80.84	130.10	81A	IL 43 (Harlem Avenue)
		81.14	130.58	81B	Sayre Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		81.85	131.72	82A	Nagle Avenue	No westbound exit
		82.09	132.11	82B	Bryn Mawr Avenue	Westbound exit
		82.31	132.47	82C	Austin Avenue to Foster Avenue	Eastbound exit
		82.79	133.24	83A	Foster Avenue	No eastbound exit
		83.01	133.59	83B	Central Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		83.71	134.72	84	Lawrence Avenue	Eastbound To I-94
		84.35– 84.59	135.75– 136.13	—	I-94 west (Edens Expressway) – Milwaukee	Western end of I-94 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; western end of reversible express lanes; I-94's exit numbers used throughout the concurrency; I-94 exit 43B
		84.77	136.42	43C	Montrose Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		85.03	136.84	43D	Kostner Avenue	Westbound exit
		85.39– 85.62	137.42– 137.79	44A	IL 19 (Irving Park Road) / Keeler Avenue	No westbound exit
		85.62– 85.81	137.79– 138.10	44B	IL 19 (Irving Park Road) / Pulaski Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		86.34	138.95	45A	Addison Street
		86.77	139.64	45B	Kimball Avenue
		87.08	140.14	45C	Belmont Avenue / Kedzie Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		87.64	141.04	—	Sacramento Avenue	Eastbound entrance
		87.79	141.28	46A	California Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		87.96	141.56	46B	Diversey Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		88.53– 88.90	142.48– 143.07	47A	Western Avenue / Fullerton Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance from Western Avenue
		89.08	143.36	47B	Damen Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		89.52	144.07	48A	Armitage Avenue	Eastbound traffic uses Armitage Avenue to Ashland Avenue
		90.10	145.00	48B	IL 64 (North Avenue)	Westbound traffic uses North Avenue to Ashland Avenue
		90.66	145.90	49A	Division Street
		90.91	146.31	49B	Augusta Boulevard / Milwaukee Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		91.40	147.09	50A	Ogden Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		91.62	147.45	50B	Ohio Street	Eastern end of reversible express lanes
		92.19	148.37	51A	Lake Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		92.27	148.49	51B	Randolph Street west
		92.34	148.61	51C	Washington Boulevard east	Exits only; no entrances
		92.44	148.77	51D	Madison Street
		92.53	148.91	51E	Monroe Street	Eastbound exit
		92.62	149.06	51F	Adams Street west	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		92.71	149.20	51G	Jackson Boulevard east	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		92.72– 93.35	149.22– 150.23	51H-I	I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) west (Eisenhower Expressway) / Ida B. Wells Drive east – Aurora, West Suburbs, Chicago Loop	Jane Byrne Interchange; signed as exits 51H (west) and 51I (east); southeastern end of Kennedy Expressway; northern end of Dan Ryan Expressway; eastern termini of I-290/IL 110 (CKC); IBW Drive formerly Congress Parkway
		93.42	150.34	51J	Taylor Street / Roosevelt Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		93.57	150.59	52B	Roosevelt Road / Taylor Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		94.22	151.63	52C	18th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		94.48	152.05	53A	Canalport Avenue / Cermak Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; Chinatown exit
		94.22– 96.04	151.63– 154.56	53B-C	I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) / 22nd Street (Cermak Road) – St. Louis, Lake Shore Drive, Chinatown	Signed separately as exits 53B (south) and 53C (north) westbound, together as exit 53 eastbound; I-55 exits 292 and 293B; 22nd St. signed westbound only; western end of express lanes
		96.16	154.75	54	31st Street
		96.45	155.22	55A	35th Street	Guaranteed Rate Field, Illinois Institute of Technology
		96.98	156.07	55B	Pershing Road
		97.44	156.81	56A	43rd Street
		97.97	157.67	56B	47th Street
		98.88	159.13	57	Garfield Boulevard
99.50		160.13	58A	59th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
100.00		160.93	58B	63rd Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
100.00– 100.33		160.93– 161.47	—	I-94 east (Dan Ryan Expressway) – Indiana	Eastern end of I-94 overlap; eastern end of express lanes; western end of Chicago Skyway; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-94 exit 59A; original I-90 exit numbering resumes on Chicago Skyway
100.33		161.47	100	State Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
101.42		163.22	101	St. Lawrence Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
101.78		163.80	102	73rd Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
103.04– 103.33		165.83– 166.29	103	Stony Island Avenue north to Lake Shore Drive	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
103.93		167.26	—	Jeffery Boulevard	Eastbound entrance
104.28		167.82	104	87th Street	Westbound exit
104.67		168.45	Chicago Skyway Toll Plaza
105.26		169.40	105	Anthony Avenue / 92nd Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
105.82– 106.21		170.30– 170.93	Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge
107.62		173.20	107	US 12 / US 20 / US 41 / LMCT (Indianapolis Boulevard) / 104th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
107.82		173.52		east / Indiana Toll Road east to I-80 / I-65 / I-94 – Toledo	Continuation into Indiana; eastern end of Chicago Skyway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access       Route transition       Unopened

Related routes[]

I-90 has two related auxiliary Interstate Highways within Illinois. I-190 is a spur into O'Hare International Airport in Chicago that is also known as the Kennedy Expressway O'Hare Extension or the O'Hare Expressway. I-290 takes a southwesterly dogleg left route accessing the western suburbs and heading eastward into downtown Chicago. It is also known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway.

See also[]

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 90 in Illinois and Chicago Skyway.

Route map:

• Illinois Tollway official site
• Official website of the Chicago Skyway
• Chicago Department of Transportation
• Description and history at Richard Carlson's Illinois Highways
• Historic, Current & Average Travel Times For The Jane Addams Tollway
• Best of Transportation Page
• Chicago Skyway (I-90) at Steve Anderson's ChicagoRoads.com
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-145, "Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge"
• Chicago Skyway High Bridge at Structurae

Interstate 90
Previous state: Wisconsin	Illinois	Next state: Indiana