- Dan Ryan Expressway
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Dan Ryan Expressway
Route information Maintained by IDOT Length: 11.47 mi[1] (18.46 km) Existed: 1962 – present Major junctions West end: 
I-90 / I-94 / I-290 (Eisenhower Expy) west of the Chicago Loop
I-55 (Stevenson Expy) at 2500 South I-90 (Chicago Skyway) at 6500 SouthEast end: 
I-57 / I-94 (Bishop Ford Fwy) in south-central ChicagoHighway system Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business
The Dan Ryan Expressway West Leg (now more commonly referred to as I-57) at Genoa Road in 1970.
The Dan Ryan is an expressway in the city of Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with I-290 near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both Interstate 94 and Interstate 90 south to 66th Street, a distance of 7.44 miles (11.97 km). It then becomes just Interstate 94 at the split with the Chicago Skyway (which becomes just Interstate 90), with a remaining distance of 4.03 miles (6.49 km). This is a total distance of 11.47 miles (18.5 km).[1]
Contents
Route description
On an average day, up to 307,100 vehicles use a portion of the Dan Ryan (2005 data).[1] The Dan Ryan, and its North Side counterpart the Kennedy Expressway, are the busiest roads in the entire state of Illinois. Utilizing an express-local system, the Dan Ryan has fourteen lanes of traffic; seven in each direction, with four of those as express lanes and the other three providing access for exit and on-ramps. Despite its width, the Dan Ryan is prone to traffic jams.
The posted directions on the Dan Ryan are different from the actual compass direction of the expressway, which may cause confusion to many travelers. The Dan Ryan for its entire 12-mile (19 km) length runs north–south. However, the Dan Ryan is a part of the larger Interstates 90 and 94, which both run east–west through the United States. Therefore, one who is traveling "west" on I-90/94 is actually driving north on the Dan Ryan as it passes through Chicago; the interstates continue on a westernly path outside of the city. Similarly, "east" on 90 and 94 on the entire system is really south through Chicago; the interstates will continue on an easternly path outside of the city. Chicagoans also typically refer to the direction of travel as either "inbound" or "outbound" from the downtown area.
Four miles of continuous high-rise housing projects (Stateway Gardens and the Robert Taylor Homes) formerly ran parallel to the expressway on its eastern side from Cermak Road south to Garfield Boulevard. However, nearly all of these buildings have been demolished as part of the CHA's transformation plan.
The Red Line of the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' runs in the median of the Dan Ryan. That section opened on September 28, 1969. Chicago pioneered the use of rapid transit trains through expressway medians which has been adopted by many other cities.[2]
The control cities for the Dan Ryan Expressway are Indiana and Chicago Loop.
History
The Dan Ryan was opened in 1962 and named for Dan Ryan, Jr., the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. During the planning stages it was also known as the South Route Expressway.
Reconstruction history
Northbound Dan Ryan Expressway near 51st Street.
Expressway at Night
View looking north towards the Chicago Loop from the Dan Ryan Expressway. 'L' tracks can be seen in the median.In 1988-1989, the northern three miles (5 km) of the Dan Ryan, known as the Elevated Bridge, were completely reconstructed.[3]
In 2006 and 2007, the Illinois Department of Transportation reconstructed the entire length of the Dan Ryan Expressway, including the addition of a travel lane from 47th Street to 95th Street. The project was the most massive expressway reconstruction plan in Chicago history. The total cost of the project was US$975 million, nearly twice the US$550 million original estimate for the project.[4][5]
Exit list
The entire route is in Chicago, Cook County.
Mile # Destinations Notes I-90 west / I-94 west (Kennedy Expressway) – WisconsinContinuation beyond I-290 51.8 51H I-290 west (Eisenhower Expressway) – West SuburbsNo exit number westbound 51.8 51I Congress Parkway – Chicago Loop Signed as 51H eastbound 52.1 52A Taylor Street (1000 South), Roosevelt Road (1200 South) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance 52.3 52B Roosevelt Road (1200 South), Taylor Street (1000 South) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance 52.9 52C 18th Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance 53.0 53A Canalport Avenue, Cermak Road (2200 South) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance 53.3 53 I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) / Lake Shore Drive – St. LouisSigned as exits 53B (south) and 53C (north) westbound West end of express lanes 53.8 53C Cermak Road (2200 South) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance 54.7 54 31st Street 55.2 55A 35th Street U.S. Cellular Field, Illinois Institute of Technology 55.7 55B Pershing Road (3900 South) 56.2 56A 43rd Street 56.7 56B 47th Street 57.7 57 Garfield Boulevard (5500 South) 58.2 58A 59th Street Westbound exit and eastbound entrance 58.7 58B 63rd Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance 59.0 59A 
I-90 east / Chicago Skyway to Indiana Toll RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance East end of I-90 overlap 59.3 59B Marquette Road, 67th Street (6700 South) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance East end of express lanes 59.8 59C 71st Street 60.3 60A 75th Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance 60.4 60B 76th Street Westbound exit and eastbound entrance 60.8 60C 79th Street 61.3 61A 83rd Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance 61.8 61B 87th Street 62.8 62 
US 12 / US 20 (95th Street)Eastbound exit and westbound entrance 63.17 63 I-57 south – MemphisEastbound exit and westbound entrance I-94 east (Bishop Ford Freeway) – IndianaEastbound exit and westbound entrance 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi References
- ^ a b c Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Thomas Buck (September 28, 1969). "Ryan rail service starts today". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Hilkevitch, John. Buckle up, it looks like a long ride. Chicago Tribune. Published March 26, 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2006.
- ^ Haggerty, Ryan (2007-10-26). "All lanes will be open on the Dan Ryan". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-danryan_weboct26,0,7051621.story?coll=chi_features_lifestyle_health_promo. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
- ^ Tridgell, Guy (2007-10-18). "Falling gas prices won't stay". Daily Southtown. Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080605171552/http://www.dailysouthtown.com/business/tridgell/608023,101807onthemove.article. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
External links
- Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90 and I-94) at Steve Anderson's ChicagoRoads.com
- Historic, Current & Average Travel Times For The Dan Ryan Expressway
Expressways in the Chicago area Stevenson Expressway Interstate 57 
Interstate 65 
Kingery Expressway | Borman Expressway
Tri-State Tollway 
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway Jane Addams Memorial Tollway | Chicago Skyway | Indiana Toll Road Dan Ryan Expressway
Interstate 190 | Kennedy Expressway Edens Spur | Edens Expressway | Bishop Ford Freeway Eisenhower Expressway 
Veterans Memorial Tollway Elgin Bypass 
Lake Shore Drive | Skokie Highway 
Illinois Route 53 
Kingery Highway 
Amstutz Expressway 
Illinois Route 394 
Elgin–O'Hare Expressway 
Cline Avenue Proposed Expressways 
Crosstown Expressway Fox Valley Freeway Illiana Expressway Prairie Parkway O'Hare Ring Road I-Pass • Illinois Tollway oasis • Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Categories:- Interstate 90
- Interstate 94
- 1962 establishments
- Expressways in the Chicago area
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