Illinois freeway history research

[Rick Powell]

I remember those days, not long after I-39, then US-51 freeway, opened.  The East-West Tollway was quiet west of Aurora, even more dead west of DeKalb, and I-39 between there and Rockford was wide open.  We used to cut over to I-88 at IL-47 from Bolingbrook when I was going to college up in Houghton, Michigan in the late 1990s and take I-39 from there north to Wisconsin.  It was a pleasant drive with a lot fewer vehicles than I-355 and I-90.

I went from Aurora to Rochelle on I-88 a few weeks ago, and could not believe the volume of traffic on I-88 as compared to the old days. Went to the DeKalb Oasis and people were four and five deep in the lines at the concessionaires.  Might have been an unusally busy day, but wow.  Traffic reminded me of I-80 between Morris and Joliet.

[Revive 755]

I went from Aurora to Rochelle on I-88 a few weeks ago, and could not believe the volume of traffic on I-88 as compared to the old days. Went to the DeKalb Oasis and people were four and five deep in the lines at the concessionaires.  Might have been an unusally busy day, but wow.  Traffic reminded me of I-80 between Morris and Joliet.

I'm leaning towards the volume of traffic on I-88 being up due to people avoiding the construction on I-90 between I-39 and the Elgin Toll Plaza.

[Brandon]

I went from Aurora to Rochelle on I-88 a few weeks ago, and could not believe the volume of traffic on I-88 as compared to the old days. Went to the DeKalb Oasis and people were four and five deep in the lines at the concessionaires.  Might have been an unusally busy day, but wow.  Traffic reminded me of I-80 between Morris and Joliet.

I'm leaning towards the volume of traffic on I-88 being up due to people avoiding the construction on I-90 between I-39 and the Elgin Toll Plaza.

It's up period.  There's a lot more traffic that's discovered I-88 as a way to go west from Chicago, especially with the explosion in growth in Aurora and Naperville.

[Revive 755]

From the ProQuest Archie tonight:

"US Rejects Freeway Project To Madison" Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1956 - The Federal Government rejected building a freeway along US 12 due "to a government policy not to support freeways that would duplicate toll routes"  So why did New Jersey get away with duplicating the New Jersey Turnpike and New York with duplicating parts of the Thruway with I-90 and I-684?

The map of the corridor also has today's I-290 crossing the Northwest Tollway closer to Barrington Road, with the continuation passing maybe a mile or two east of Barrington before parallel the US 12 corridor.

[Revive 755]

Found a 1940 Highway plan for Cook County tonight:
http://www.connectingcookcounty.org/pdf/1940%20Long%20Range%20HighwayPlan.pdf#page=27

[TheStranger]

From the ProQuest Archie tonight:

"US Rejects Freeway Project To Madison" Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1956 - The Federal Government rejected building a freeway along US 12 due "to a government policy not to support freeways that would duplicate toll routes"  So why did New Jersey get away with duplicating the New Jersey Turnpike and New York with duplicating parts of the Thruway with I-90 and I-684?

For that matter, doesn't 94 between Chicago and Lake Station serve as a duplication of the Chicago Skyway/Indiana Toll Road?  (And to some extent, Ohio SR 2 between Sandusky and Elyria)

[Joe The Dragon]

From the ProQuest Archie tonight:

"US Rejects Freeway Project To Madison" Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1956 - The Federal Government rejected building a freeway along US 12 due "to a government policy not to support freeways that would duplicate toll routes"  So why did New Jersey get away with duplicating the New Jersey Turnpike and New York with duplicating parts of the Thruway with I-90 and I-684?

For that matter, doesn't 94 between Chicago and Lake Station serve as a duplication of the Chicago Skyway/Indiana Toll Road?  (And to some extent, Ohio SR 2 between Sandusky and Elyria)

The sky way when into the city and I-94 linked to the old US 41 Toll? (by pass route)

[Revive 755]

For that matter, doesn't 94 between Chicago and Lake Station serve as a duplication of the Chicago Skyway/Indiana Toll Road?  (And to some extent, Ohio SR 2 between Sandusky and Elyria)

I don't believe OH 2 was intended to be marked as an interstate so, it is not really the same situation (corrections are welcomed if I'm wrong).  But I-94 is definitely a duplication of the Indiana Toll Road between and at least Michigan City.  Using the same logic as a direct Chicago - Madison route being a duplicate of the NW Tollway, I-94 should have been posted on the Indiana Toll Road to at least South Bend and then had a north-south section along US 31 before rejoining its present route.

It's really a shame Illinois and Wisconsin didn't fight harder and win over I-90's routing, although I wonder if this would have resulted in a different gap in the interstate system, such as between Rockford and Madison, or I-43 not making it west of the Elkhorn area.

[Brandon]

From the ProQuest Archie tonight:

"US Rejects Freeway Project To Madison" Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1956 - The Federal Government rejected building a freeway along US 12 due "to a government policy not to support freeways that would duplicate toll routes"  So why did New Jersey get away with duplicating the New Jersey Turnpike and New York with duplicating parts of the Thruway with I-90 and I-684?

For that matter, doesn't 94 between Chicago and Lake Station serve as a duplication of the Chicago Skyway/Indiana Toll Road?  (And to some extent, Ohio SR 2 between Sandusky and Elyria)

1. The Kingery/Borman and Calumet (aka Bishop Ford) Expressways were started prior to the 1956 act (and even the Skyway and Toll Road for that matter) in 1950.

2. OH-2 was not built with federal finding, IIRC.  It's entirely done by ODOT.

[Revive 755]

From a June 1970 report for the US 41 freeway from IL 120 to the Wisconsin Border:

[Supposed to be an image here, but I see the image host I had been using now wants $3.99/month for direct links]

The image would have been of the Supplemental Freeway system proposed for Illinois but with two freeways that seems to have died off earlier than the rest:  the Dwight to Kankakee corridor, and a Quad Cities to Rockford route.  At this time what is now I-88 would have stayed along US 30 from Sugar Grove to Clinton, Iowa.

[Joe The Dragon]

From a June 1970 report for the US 41 freeway from IL 120 to the Wisconsin Border:

and that was right along side I-94 / old Toll US41

[froggie]

[Supposed to be an image here, but I see the image host I had been using now wants $3.99/month for direct links]

Guessing this is why none of your earlier images are showing anymore.  Any plans to find a new image host?  Plenty of options out there.

[Revive 755]

^ Eventually, but for the time it is a tad low on my priority list.

[Stratuscaster]

I've got space available if you're interested - just PM me.

[merrycilantro]

Forgive me if this was already discussed on this post, but is there any info as to why US 12 Freeway was never built from Chicago to Madison? My assumption would be NIMBYs, but I never did find out for sure.

[Alex]

^ Eventually, but for the time it is a tad low on my priority list.

We could host them here directly too if you want.

[Revive 755]

Trying this again . . .

[firefox locks up while typing]

Trying yet again . . .

From a June 1970 report for the US 41 freeway from IL 120 to the Wisconsin Border:


Above is an image of the Supplemental Freeway system proposed for Illinois but with two freeways that seems to have died off earlier than the rest:  the Dwight to Kankakee corridor, and a Quad Cities to Rockford route.  At this time what is now I-88 would have stayed along US 30 from Sugar Grove to Clinton, Iowa.


Above is a map of a freeway plan with names for some of the corridors (probably not visible in the linked version), plus a possible variant of the more official CATS plan.  Of note:

* Harvard - North Chicago Freeway:  From around the IL 60 intersection with US 41 west, eventually running parallel along US 14 west of Crystal Lake to the Wisconsin border.

* Southwest Suburban Freeway:  From I-57 at 99th Street west to I-55 near IL 126 where it would have turned into the Fox Valley Freeway

As for the variant routes:

* The east-west leg of the Crosstown/I-494 is shown extending east of I-94 to I-90

* The Bryn Mawr corridor is shown being a continuation of the IL 171 corridor.  The 1971 interim CATS plan has the Bryn Mawr corridor stopping at I-90 near Bryn Mawr exit (82B).


This figure shows what some of the Illinois freeways were supposed to connect with in Wisconsin.

[bahnburner]

Amazing. If Cicero (50) was part of the Interstate network, it would have been a bullet straight shot from I-57 to the Edens (I-94 W), avoiding most of downtown traffic and also not having to go out into the suburbs (I-294). But I guess urban development took priority and it ended up as an arterial road. Still, not sure if it would have made it better or worse (i.e. induced demand, dividing/segregating communities, etc.)

[froggie]

It's moreso a case that "urban development" happened before freeway planning began.  Especially north of Midway, Chicago urbanization leapfrogged over Cicero years before we started planning the Interstates and other freeways.  The Interstate idea was to squeeze it into a rail right-of-way, but it A) still would have required additional right-of-way, especially north of the Eisenhower, and B) that rail line turns east at Midway, so there was no corridor south of there to 57 that wouldn't have involved bulldozing through a lot of built-up land.

BTW, revive, are those the largest sizes of those maps you have?  Still a bit small and hard to pick out detail, especially on that last one (the joint WI/IL map).

[Brandon]

It's moreso a case that "urban development" happened before freeway planning began.  Especially north of Midway, Chicago urbanization leapfrogged over Cicero years before we started planning the Interstates and other freeways.  The Interstate idea was to squeeze it into a rail right-of-way, but it A) still would have required additional right-of-way, especially north of the Eisenhower, and B) that rail line turns east at Midway, so there was no corridor south of there to 57 that wouldn't have involved bulldozing through a lot of built-up land.

BTW, revive, are those the largest sizes of those maps you have?  Still a bit small and hard to pick out detail, especially on that last one (the joint WI/IL map).

Don't short the south side, Froggie.  Urban development also leapfrogged Cicero south of Midway well before the freeways as well.  The Ford City Mall area was a former industrial plant (hence the name "Ford City") before and during the Second World War.  Afterwards, it was sold as surplus and bought by Preston Tucker to build his car (of which 50 were built).  Then, the building was remodeled and reused for the mall.

[ET21]

Oak Lawn having a freeway through it...

[Revive 755]

BTW, revive, are those the largest sizes of those maps you have?  Still a bit small and hard to pick out detail, especially on that last one (the joint WI/IL map).

The version that was not resized is not much bigger; for some reason this report used photographs of maps instead of the actual maps.

[NE2]

It would make it much easier for traffic coming up from I-57 to get on I-39 in Salem and not have to cut over on I-74 in Champaign-Urbana.

150 miles of new freeway for a 20 mile savings is hardly worthwhile.

[JREwing78]

It would make it much easier for traffic coming up from I-57 to get on I-39 in Salem and not have to cut over on I-74 in Champaign-Urbana.

150 miles of new freeway for a 20 mile savings is hardly worthwhile.

More like 75 miles of new freeway, and about 55 miles of new interchanges, overpasses, and access closures, since the highway north of Assumption is already 4-laned, and there's already bypasses in place around most towns. The only grossly expensive part will be the two miles or so north of I-72 in Decatur, which they would have to either bypass or grade-separate the existing highway.

From an economic point of view, the highway would pull a lot of truck traffic off of I-57 and I-74, two roads that could certainly use it. It would also provide a valuable relief route if I-55 or I-57 are closed. And connectivity between northern Illinois and point south (Nashville, Memphis) would be dramatically improved, particularly for cities in northwestern Illinois.

Are there better ways for IDOT to spend its limited funding? Sure. I find the case for just building 4-lane controlled-access expressway over the remaining 75 miles much stronger than upgrading all 150 miles to Interstate-grade highway. Then, take the remaining funding and build out the rest of the US-20 expressway from Freeport to Dubuque.

[Revive 755]

]The East-West Gateway Council of Governments has posted the 1970Alternative Patterns for Growth (~10 MB pdf) for the St. Louis region.  Of note for the Illinois side in many of the concepts is the earlier routing of I-255, with the extension beyond I-55/I-70 running closer to the Mississippi.  On the Local Concepts Combined Alternative (Page 40/), the early Outer Belt corridor (very similar to the currently dormant Gateway Connector) on the Illinois side makes an apperance, along with a new bridge and corridor (which may or may not have been a freeway) across the Mississippi near Festus-Crystal City.