I-57 in Kankakee

[CtrlAltDel]

Does anyone know why I-57 is so narrow on the east side of Kankakee?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/41%C2%B006'37.5%22N+87%C2%B050'07.1%22W/@41.1104148,-87.8528152,5523m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

For the longest time, I thought that it was because this was the downtown area of Kankakee, but it turns out it isn't. It seems weird to me that it should be so narrow here since there seems to be nothing really constraining it so much.

[roadman65]

Probably some protected land it goes through.  Maybe Al Gore thinks that having the wider highway will cause global warming to accelerate even more.

Seriously, it probably is some silly reason and maybe narrowing it down some was the only way the highway could be built.  Just like in PA with the Blue Route and US 202, where PennDOT had to compromise and build I-476 with four lanes instead of six, and the US 202 alignment to bypass Chalfont to be built at grade instead of a full freeway as originally planned.

[SteveG1988]

If you look at the overpass, you will see it predates the Interstate Highway System.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1123005,-87.8354323,3a,75y,242.09h,90.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seJeEiFa7a41teNzDxFcUZw!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

[SteveG1988]

http://uglybridges.com/1147193

[Lyon Wonder]

The freeway bypass around Kankakee was built in the late 1950s and is probably the oldest alignment of I-57.  I think this alignment was originally planned as a bypass for US 54, which explains why it was open so early..

[SteveG1988]

The freeway bypass around Kankakee was built in the late 1950s and is probably the oldest alignment of I-57.  I think this alignment was originally planned as a bypass for US 54, which explains why it was open so early..

And the narrowed roadway

[Rick Powell]

The freeway bypass around Kankakee was built in the late 1950s and is probably the oldest alignment of I-57.  I think this alignment was originally planned as a bypass for US 54, which explains why it was open so early..

And the narrowed roadway

There is a cemetery on the SE corner of Route 17 and I-57, so naturally it was a "no go" area when the original freeway was built.  The center median is there but it has reasonably wide shoulders.  There is a feasibility study that was completed when I was at IDOT that makes provisions for widening everything to 3-lanes in each direction from Exit 308 (US 45/52 at south end of town) north, and the recently completed interchange at IL 50 accommodates it, as will future bridge widenings at Larry Power Road, St. George Road, the new 6000 N road interchange, and the new SPUI being planned at Route 17.

[paulthemapguy]

http://uglybridges.com/1147193

If anyone is interested in knowing, that bridge is currently under a major reconstruction.

[Brandon]

The freeway bypass around Kankakee was built in the late 1950s and is probably the oldest alignment of I-57.  I think this alignment was originally planned as a bypass for US 54, which explains why it was open so early..

It was.  Maps from the era show US-54 on the freeway segment (from the current Exit 308 to the current exit 312, & under construction to the current Exit 315).

[captkirk_4]

There is an old railroad viaduct that 57 goes under where basically the shoulders disappear and the whole thing is crammed into 4 lanes barely fitting under the thing. Between that 15mph narrow exit by the orange skyscraper and the Kankakee River. That stretch almost reminds me of Palatine Road. Tolerable because traffic isn't too bad on I-57.