Kennedy Expressway
Kennedy Expressway | |
---|---|
John F. Kennedy Expressway | |
Route information | |
Maintained by IDOT | |
Length | 17.80 mi[1] (28.65 km) |
Existed | 1960–present |
Component highways |
|
Major junctions | |
West end | O'Hare International Airport in Chicago |
US 12 / US 45 in Chicago I-294 Toll in Rosemont I-90 Toll / I-190 in Chicago IL 171 in Chicago IL 43 in Chicago I-94 in Chicago IL 19 in Chicago IL 64 in Chicago | |
East end | I-90 / I-94 / I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Chicago |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
Highway system | |
The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly 18-mile-long (29 km)
Traveling eastbound from O'Hare, the Kennedy interchanges with the eastern terminus of the
With up to 327,000 vehicles traveling on the Kennedy daily, the Kennedy and its South Side extension, the
History
The Kennedy was originally constructed along the route of Avondale Avenue, an existing diagonal street, and the
The express portion of the freeway was last reconstructed from 1992 through 1994,[3] when the existing express lanes, which previously were reversed by hand, were modernized. In addition, all aspects of the express lanes system were computerized, so that the process could be controlled at both ends from a central location. At least once a day, however, IDOT crews still examine the express lanes for debris while the lanes are closed.
In 2005, the Washington Street bridge over the expressway was reconstructed, and the entrance ramps to both directions of the Kennedy were partially removed. The same was done in 2006 for the Monroe Street bridge. This left a disconnected portion of each ramp remaining on the expressway, to be removed and the existing "suicide ramps" lengths extended when funding became available. The
In 2015, the American Highway Users Alliance named the 12 miles (19 km) of the Kennedy between the Circle Interchange and Edens junction the worst traffic bottleneck in the country.[6]
Features
The
The second distinct features of the Kennedy Expressway are its
A third distinct feature is Hubbard's Cave, also called the Hubbard Street Tunnel, which passes under several streets and the
The final distinct features are the nine exits in two miles (3.2 km) between mile markers 50 and 51, and the southbound exit to I-290 and Ida B. Wells Drive is marked as exits 51H and 51I. While the density of interchanges is quite dangerous, the hazard is partially offset by the fact that exits are 500 feet (150 m) apart on the right hand side, while entrances to the highway were 500 feet (150 m) apart, but on the left side. Known as the "suicide ramps", the entrance ramps on the left had little to no acceleration zone, and traffic on the ramps could not see mainline traffic until the last 500 feet (150 m) of the ramp. The 2009–10 reconstruction between
The Kennedy Expressway was the location of a large Magikist lips flashing sign which was a Chicago pop culture icon for many years. Located at the southeast corner where Montrose Avenue abutted the expressway, the sign was torn down in 2004.
Exit list
The entire route is in Cook County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | O'Hare International Airport | Western terminus of I-190 |
0.99 | 1.59 | — | Bessie Coleman Drive – Terminal 5, Rental Car Return | ||
1.27 | 2.04 | 2 | US 12 / US 45 (Mannheim Road) | Signed as exits 2A (north) and 2B (south); eastbound exit 2B shares a ramp with Bessie Coleman Drive | |
Rosemont | 1.79 | 2.88 | 1D | I-294 Toll south (Tri-State Tollway) | |
1.81 | 2.91 | 1C | Milwaukee, Rockford | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
2.24 | 3.60 | 1 | River Road | Signed as exits 1A (north) and 1B (south) eastbound | |
ends | Eastern terminus of I-190; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||||
79.60 | 128.10 | 79 | Cumberland Avenue ) | Signed as exits 79A (south) and 79B (north) | |
80.30 | 129.23 | 80 | Canfield Road | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
81.20 | 130.68 | 81A | IL 43 (Harlem Avenue) | ||
81.20 | 130.68 | 81B | Sayre Avenue (7000 West) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
82.20 | 132.29 | 82A | Nagle Avenue (6432 West) | No westbound exit | |
82.40 | 132.61 | 82B | Bryn Mawr Avenue (5600 North) | Westbound exit only | |
82.80 | 133.25 | 82C | Austin Avenue (6000 West) | Eastbound exit only | |
83.30 | 134.06 | 83A | Foster Avenue (5200 North) | No eastbound exit | |
83.50 | 134.38 | 83B | Central Avenue (5600 West) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
84.20 | 135.51 | 84 | Lawrence Avenue (4800 North) | To Edens Expressway ) | |
84.80 43.32 | 136.47 69.72 | 43B | Milwaukee | "The Junction"; western terminus of concurrency with I-94; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; exit number follows I-94 | |
43.60 | 70.17 | 43C | Montrose Avenue (4400 North) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
43.90 | 70.65 | 43D | Kostner Avenue (4400 West) | Westbound exit only | |
44.30 | 71.29 | 44A | IL 19 (Irving Park Road (4000 North)) / Keeler Avenue | No westbound exit | |
44.50 | 71.62 | 44B | IL 19 (Irving Park Road (4000 North)) / Pulaski Road (4000 West) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
45.10 | 72.58 | 45A | Addison Street (3600 North) | ||
45.50 | 73.23 | 45B | Kimball Avenue (3400 West) | ||
45.80 | 73.71 | 45C | Belmont Avenue (3200 North) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
46.10 | 74.19 | — | Sacramento Avenue (3000 West) | Eastbound entrance only | |
46.30 | 74.51 | 46A | California Avenue (2800 West) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
46.50 | 74.83 | 46B | Diversey Avenue (2800 North) | Westbound exit only and eastbound entrance | |
47.05– 47.50 | 75.72– 76.44 | 47A | Fullerton Avenue (2400 North) | No eastbound access to Western Avenue | |
47.60 | 76.60 | 47B | Damen Avenue (2000 West) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
48.15 | 77.49 | 48A | Armitage Avenue (2000 North) | ||
48.70 | 78.38 | 48B | IL 64 (North Avenue) (1600 North) | ||
49.40 | 79.50 | 49A | Division Street (1200 North) | ||
49.70– 49.80 | 79.98– 80.15 | 49B | Augusta Boulevard / Milwaukee Avenue (1000 North) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
50.10 | 80.63 | 50A | Ogden Avenue (1200 West) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
50.40 | 81.11 | 50B | Ohio Street east (600 North) | Eastern terminus of express lanes | |
51.00 | 82.08 | 51A | Lake Street (200 North) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
51.10 | 82.24 | 51B | Randolph Street west (150 North) | ||
51.20 | 82.40 | 51C | Washington Boulevard east (100 North) | No entrance ramps | |
51.30 | 82.56 | 51D | Madison Street (0 North/South) | ||
51.40 | 82.72 | 51E | Monroe Street (100 South) | Eastbound exit only | |
51.50 | 82.88 | 51F | Adams Street west (200 South) | Eastbound exit only; shared ramp with exit 51G | |
51.60 | 83.04 | 51G | Jackson Boulevard east (300 South) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; shared exit ramp with exit 51F | |
51.80 | 83.36 | 51H | Eisenhower Expressway) / IL 110 (CKC) west – Aurora | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
51.80 | 83.36 | 51I | Ida B. Wells Drive east – Chicago Loop (500 South) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
51.80 | 83.36 | — | I-90 east / I-94 east (Dan Ryan Expressway) – Indiana | I-90 and I-94 continue east | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
See also
- List of memorials to John F. Kennedy
References
- ^ a b c d Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Illinois Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
- ^ "Northwest Expressway Is Renamed for Kennedy". Chicago Tribune. November 30, 1963. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
- ^ Hilkevitch, John (March 26, 2006). "Buckle Up, It Looks like a Long Ride". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2006.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hilkevitch, Jon (July 13, 2009). "Kennedy Expressway Left-Lane 'Suicide' Ramps Makeover Begins Monday". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ Hilkevitch, Jon (December 21, 2009). "Getting Around: Kennedy Expressway's New Ramps Get a Test-Drive". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ Anderson, Lon; Gillen, Cathy; Singh, Daisy (2015). "Unclogging America's Arteries: Prescriptions for Healthier Highways" (Press release). American Highway Users Alliance. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Blue Line: O'Hare Branch". Chicago "L".org. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "IDOT Snowplow Stops Wrong-Way Driver in Kennedy Expressway Express Lanes". Chicago Sun Times. Sun-Times Media Wire. January 25, 2014.