Illinois Route 53

Infobox Illinois state route
article_route = 53
prev_route = 52
prev_type = US
next_route = 54
next_type = US
length_mi = 82.02
length_round = 2
length_ref = cite web |author=Illinois Technology Transfer Center |url=http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html |title=T2 GIS Data |accessdate=2007-11-08 |date=2006]
direction_b = North
direction_a=South
established = 1924Carlson, Rick. [http://www.n9jig.com/41-60.html Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 41 thru 60] . Last updated March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2006.]
starting_terminus =
ending_terminus =
cities = Joliet, Bolingbrook, Wheaton, Schaumburg, Palatine
counties = Grundy, Will, DuPage, Cook, Lake

Illinois Route 53 is an arterial north-south state highway in northeast Illinois. Route 53 runs south from Long Grove at Illinois Route 83 to Gardner at Interstate 55 west of old "U.S. Highway 66", a distance of convert|82.02|mi|km|2. It mainly cuts through the western suburbs of Chicago, passes through Joliet, and straddles I-55 at its southern extent.

Route description

, Illinois 53 is called Columbine Avenue.

South of the first junction with I-55, Illinois 53 follows old "U.S. 66" and parallels Interstate 55, entering downtown Joliet, which is about four miles east of I-55. Illinois 53 also passes directly in front of Stateville Correctional Center between Joliet and Romeoville. From Joliet it follows the original "U.S. 66" alignment to the south. It remains a four-lane divided highway for about 15 miles, passing through Elwood and the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, part of which is now occupied by the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. Route 53 narrows to two lanes just outside Wilmington and crosses the Kankakee River in downtown Wilmington. It then continues southwest through Braidwood and Braceville on its way to Gardner, where it loops around the southern part of town before ending at I-55.

Exit list

History

SBI Route 53 ran from Romeoville to Long Grove on Rohlwing Road and Hicks Road from 1924 to 1963. From 1963 through 1970, it was routed onto a new freeway from Addison to Arlington Heights and cosigned with Interstate 90 until that was changed to Interstate 290.

In 1967 Illinois 53 was extended to Gardner, and in 1995 Illinois Route 129 was routed onto Illinois 53 south of Braidwood. This lasted a year until Illinois 129 was dropped entirely south of Braidwood. Near the northern end, the freeway was extended from Dundee Road to Lake-Cook Road in 1989.cite web |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB36DD7C2CD29E4&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=Expressway projects on the list for Chicago area |author=Springfield Bureau |date=1988-05-26 |accessdate=2008-06-25 |publisher=Chicago Tribune]

In 1990, with the construction of Interstate 355, Illinois 53 was moved off of the Interstate 290/355 combination south of Biesterfield Road and back onto its original alignment.

Future

Illinois 53 has been at the center of a major dispute regarding its northern extension (also known as FAP 342) into Lake County. The studied corridor currently runs from its current terminus at Lake-Cook Road north to a planned bypass for Illinois Route 120 near Grayslake. This bypass would carry through traffic to the Tri-State Tollway around Gurnee. The freeway would then turn west towards U.S. Route 12 and an existing freeway in south central Wisconsin. Should the freeway ever be constructed, it is likely that it would be Interstate standard, and would result in a new Interstate designation, most likely Interstate 594.

The freeway has been opposed by several organizations, notably the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club and vocal residents of Long Grove, which lies directly in the path of the Illinois 53 freeway extension. The Sierra Club opposes the roadway extension due to the presence of some ecologically sensitive marshes, the lack of alternative forms of mass transportation, and evidence that construction of the proposed highway will merely spur more development and congestion in the future. This phenomenon is known as suburban sprawl. [Illinois Sierra Club. [http://illinois.sierraclub.org/w&w/route53.html Guide to Route 53 extension (FAP 342)] . Retrieved April 11, 2006.]

Proponents of the freeway argue that congestion in Lake County has already reached economically damaging levels, and that a freeway would save millions in fuel costs that would otherwise be lost in congestion. In addition, a freeway would substantially supplement an existing disorganized cluster of roads in the county; unlike neighboring counties, Lake and McHenry County lack arterial-capacity east-west and north-south state highways. In addition, proponents note that future projections call for housing and commerce development to reach the McHenry and Lake County areas regardless of the presence of a freeway. Finally, proponents note that the majority of the affected population supports building the Illinois 53 extension. [Build 53 Now! [http://www.absillinois.com/build53/intro.asp Home Page] . Retrieved April 11, 2006.]

In 1999, the Illinois Department of Transportation talked of widening Illinois 53 south of U.S. Route 20 (Lake Street) and generally north of Interstate 88 to a five-lane section. Opposition from a citizen group called NIFTI (Neighbors Influencing Fifty-Three improvement) began to lobby for a smaller expansion plan of three-lanes. The road south of Lake Street runs through predominantly residential areas and light industry. The term Context Sensitive Design and Solutions was introduced to the state of Illinois through the efforts of this group.

References

External Links

* [http://www.gcmtravelstats.com/Default.aspx?selLinks1=70 Historic, Current & Average Travel Times For Illinois Route 53]