Interstate 88, IL and NY??

[roadgeek]

I am beyond confused about this...are there 2 I-88's? I see there is one in northern Illinois and there is one in New York. I've been looking at Google Maps and I don't see where they are connected. Please help! This is driving me nuts!

[Rothman]

They are not connected and there are indeed two of them (just like the I-84s).

[Alex]

One of several pairs of separate Interstates with the same number across the country, with I-76, I-84, I-86 being the other main pairs.

Then you have separate I-74's, with portions in NC and the original route from the Quad Cities to Cincinnati. Also there are many disconnected segments of Interstate 69 from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to Bloomington, Indiana (woops) presently.

[TravelingBethelite]

One of several pairs of separate Interstates with the same number across the country, with I-76, I-84, I-86 being the other main pairs.

Then you have separate I-74's, with portions in NC and the original route from the Quad Cities to Cincinnati. Also there are many disconnected segments of Interstate 69 from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to Bloomington, Indiana, presently.

FTFY kindly.

[Henry]

Also, the proposed I-44 that would run from Raleigh to Norfolk will not connect to the I-44 that already exists, from Wichita Falls to St. Louis. Remember that these duplicate routes came about when suffixed Interstates were eliminated (both instances of I-76 were I-80S, I-84 in the West was I-80N, and I-86 in ID was I-15W).

[roadgeek]

What is the rationale for this? I can understand I-69 because it's still being built. But the others make no sense to me. Why not just assign a different route number?

[TravelingBethelite]

Because of the stubbornness of AASHTO, the people who assign the road numbers and standards and whatnot the lack of numbers up in the mid-70s-90s range.) All the numbers up from I-68 (69, 70, 71...) are used for one Interstate or another. If this were between, say, I-20 to I-64, we'd have no problems. Most of the numbers in that range are not used (e.g. I-28, 32, 34, 36, etc.)     

[Pete from Boston]

What is the rationale for this? I can understand I-69 because it's still being built. But the others make no sense to me. Why not just assign a different route number?

74 is one route on paper, but without real-world plans to connect the segments.

[paulthemapguy]

What is the rationale for this? I can understand I-69 because it's still being built. But the others make no sense to me. Why not just assign a different route number?

East-west interstates are numbered with even numbers that increase as you go north.  So I-10 exists in the southern edge of the US, and I-90 runs along the northern edge of the country.  Unfortunately, every even number from 66 to 90 has already been used, and there's a higher concentration of distinct Interstate roadways in the northern part of the country.  So people have had to reuse numbers as more highways got built.  Indeed, there are two instances of 88, as well as 86, 84, and 76.

Sidenote: I personally think Idaho's 86 should be renumbered as a 3-digit, and Washington's 82 should be renumbered as a north-south road (e.g. 11, 13) so we can use 82 on a more important Interstate east of there.  But I'm probably not getting anywhere suggesting those anyway 

[The Ghostbuster]

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

[Brandon]

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

Yep, I-88 became I-88 so that the East-West Tollway and the toll-free part of IL-5 could have a 65 mph speed limit.

[Rothman]

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

Wasn't really finished until 1989.  Lots of murmuring still abounds as to whether the entire route was necessary to build.

[Rick Powell]

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

Part of I-88 was "US 30 Toll" for a while, too.  What is now IL 56 between IL 47 and the current toll road used to be the western end of it, where IL 56 meets US 30 coming from the west. Then US 30 Toll continued east on the current toll road to I-294 (the Tri-State), then went southeast along the Tri-State to its junction with what is now IL 394, then south till it met again with US 30.  The US 30 Toll designation came off in 1965.  When the toll road was re-routed to the north about 1974, the tolls came off of the IL 56 section and it became a 4-lane feeder route from Sugar Grove to the toll road.

[hotdogPi]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

Fixed quote. - rmf67

[Revive 755]

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

Wasn't really finished until 1989.  Lots of murmuring still abounds as to whether the entire route was necessary to build.

Which I-88?  The Illinois one is certainly a useful alternative to I-80 (which always seems to have at least one section under construction between I-74/I-280 and I-55) for trips starting or ending in the northern half of Chicagoland.  Granted now with all the construction on I-88, it is not a useful alternative when the Toll Authority insists on having 20+ miles of head to head, single lane traffic with a speed limit of 45.

[mrose]

IL-5 / I-88 was very useful for southern and eastern Wisconsinites heading to Iowa, Nebraska and points west during the 1980s, which I did frequently.

[Rick Powell]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

US 30 Toll was a separate route from US 30, which paralleled it, more or less to the south for its length.  As long as there was a non tolled US 30 alternative it may have gotten through a loophole in the prohibition, if there was one.

Fixed quote. - rmf67

[Rothman]

Illinois' Interstate 88 started out life as State Highway 190, before being renumbered to State Highway 5 in the 1970's, to becoming Interstate 88 around 1988. New York's Interstate 88 dates back to the 1960's, I believe.

Wasn't really finished until 1989.  Lots of murmuring still abounds as to whether the entire route was necessary to build.

Which I-88? 

NY

[peterj920]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

US 30 Toll was a separate route from US 30, which paralleled it, more or less to the south for its length.  As long as there was a non tolled US 30 alternative it may have gotten through a loophole in the prohibition, if there was one.

Fixed quote. - rmf67

When the Tri-State first opened, the I-94 portion used to be Toll US 41

[Big John]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

Fixed quote. - rmf67

US 51 by Rockford is on the Northwest tollway.

[Brandon]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

These were bannered "TOLL", as a bypass type route with the actual US highway being on the surface streets.  There was Toll US-30, Toll US-12, Toll US-20, and Toll US-41.  Toll US-30 followed the Tri-State and East-West Tollways to Sugar Grove.  Toll US-41 followed the entire Tri-State Tollway.  Toll US-20 and Toll US-12 followed part of the Tri-State Tollway.  Non of them used the Northwest Tollway.

[Pete from Boston]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

Fixed quote. - rmf67

I didn't know this.  Clearly they can contain toll bridges.  When was this declared and by whom?

[captkirk_4]

Wasn't really finished until 1989.  Lots of murmuring still abounds as to whether the entire route was necessary to build.

It's a lot easier drive from Chicago to Iowa that the horrendous traffic on I-55 and I-80, worth the toll and a dozen miles shorter as well. Do think it should be a lower number closer to 80 since US 20 from Rockford to Sioux City Iowa could become an interstate in the future as well.

[SEWIGuy]

Wasn't really finished until 1989.  Lots of murmuring still abounds as to whether the entire route was necessary to build.

It's a lot easier drive from Chicago to Iowa that the horrendous traffic on I-55 and I-80, worth the toll and a dozen miles shorter as well. Do think it should be a lower number closer to 80 since US 20 from Rockford to Sioux City Iowa could become an interstate in the future as well.

I don't think you should reserve numbers because something "might" become an interstate decades into the future.  Especially a corridor that is a LONG way from becoming an interstate like US-20.

[roadman65]

"US 30 Toll"

I thought US routes couldn't be toll roads.

Fixed quote. - rmf67

I didn't know this.  Clearly they can contain toll bridges.  When was this declared and by whom?

What about Delaware planning to have a toll on the new US 301 alignment?

What about US 412 in Oklahoma?