Illinois Route 72

Illinois Route 72
Higgins Road
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length:	110.71 mi[1] (178.17 km)
Existed:	1924[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	IL 73 in Lanark
	I-39 / US 51 in Monroe Center US 20 / IL 47 in Hampshire I-290 / IL 53 in Schaumburg I-90 in Des Plaines US 12 / US 45 in Des Plaines I-90 in Rosemont
East end:	IL 43 in Chicago
Location
Counties:	Carroll, Ogle, DeKalb, Kane, Cook
Highway system
Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← I-72 IL 73 →

Illinois Route 72 is an east–west state road in northern Illinois. It runs from the intersection with Illinois Route 73 north of Lanark east to Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue) in Chicago. This is a distance of 110.71 miles (178.2 km).^[1]

Route description

Looking east at Illinois Route 72 just west of Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue). Due to a lack of right-of-way, the western lanes are routed onto a two-lane bridge over the eastbound exit ramp from Interstate 90 (Kennedy Expressway) to Harlem Avenue.

Illinois 72 is called Higgins Road for most of its length in the Chicago area, and has been redirected in parts of the area to accommodate for new features. Near Rosemont, the road has been shifted to make way for O'Hare International Airport — further east, parts of the road have been moved to make room for the Northwest Tollway (Interstate 90). The road serves as a major six-lane thoroughfare for several western suburbs, including Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, and Hoffman Estates.

Illinois 72 runs concurrently for one block with Illinois Route 83 in Elk Grove Township, and Illinois Route 47 and U.S. Highway 20 by Starks, an unincorporated village approximately 60 miles (97 km) from Chicago. The latter is a Wrong-way concurrency, where one can be driving both west on Illinois 72 and east on U.S. 20 at the same time. West from Chicago, Illinois 72 largely parallels Interstate 90 until Starks, crossing over and under the highway six times without an intersection. On a larger scale, it is the main east–west artery to Chicago between Interstate 90 and Illinois Route 64.

It serves the towns and cities of, from west to east, Lanark, Shannon, Forreston, Leaf River, Byron, Stillman Valley, Kirkland, Kingston, Genoa, Hampshire, Gilberts, Sleepy Hollow, West Dundee, East Dundee, South Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, Des Plaines, Rosemont, and Chicago. Higgins Road/Higgins Avenue continues east-southeast from Harlem Avenue in Chicago to Milwaukee Avenue near Lawrence Avenue.

Route 72 is one of seven state roads to enter the city of Chicago.

History

SBI Route 72 originally ran from Lanark to Starks. It was extended east in 1937 and 1938 to East Dundee, and then to Chicago. In 1968, the designation of IL 72 was truncated back to IL 43 (Harlem Avenue), lopping off 10.5 miles (16.9 km).^[3] In 1982, it was shortened again, this time to Illinois Route 73.^[2]

The crash site of American Airlines Flight 191 is located along the road as Higgins Road, just south of the road and north of O'Hare International Airport.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Carroll	Lanark	0.00	0.00	IL 73 – Lanark, Pearl City, Georgetown	Western terminus of IL 72
Ogle	Forreston			IL 26 north – Freeport	Begin/end concurrency with IL 26
				IL 26 south (First Avenue) – Polo	Begin/end concurrency with IL 26
	Byron			IL 2 south – Oregon	Begin/end concurrency with IL 2
				IL 2 north (East Blackhawk Drive) – Rockford	Begin/end concurrency with IL 2
	Davis Junction			IL 251 – Rochelle, Rockford
	Monroe Center			I-39 / US 51 – LaSalle, Peru, Rockford	Exit 111 (I-39/US 51)
DeKalb	Genoa			IL 23 south (Sycamore Road) – Sycamore	Begin/end concurrency with IL 23
				IL 23 north – Riley, Marengo	Begin/end concurrency with IL 23
	Starks			US 20 east / IL 47 south – Elgin, Lily Lake	Begin/end concurrency with US 20/IL 47
				US 20 west / IL 47 north – Marengo, Huntley	Begin/end concurrency with US 20/IL 47
Kane	West Dundee			IL 31 (Eighth Street) – Elgin, Algonquin
	East Dundee			IL 68 east (Penny Avenue) – Barrington
				IL 25 (Dundee Avenue) – Elgin, Carpentersville
Cook	Sutton			IL 59 (New Sutton Road) to I-90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) – Streamwood, Barrington
	Hoffman Estates			To I-90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) via Barrington Road	Exit 62 (I-90)
	Hoffman Estates–Schaumburg village line			IL 58 (West Golf Road) – Streamwood, Des Plaines
	Schaumburg			I-290 (Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway) – Chicago
	Elk Grove Village			IL 83 south (Busse Road) – Villa Park	Begin/end concurrency with IL 83
				IL 83 north (West Oakton Street) – Mount Prospect	Begin/end concurrency with IL 83
	Des Plaines			I-90 east (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) – Chicago	Exit 75 (I-90)
				US 45 (Mannheim Road) – Franklin Park, Des Plaines
				I-90 west (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) – Rockford	Exit 77-78 (I-90)
	Chicago			IL 171 south (Cumberland Avenue) – River Grove	Northern terminus of IL 171
				I-90 east (Kennedy Expressway) – Rockford	Exit 80 (I-90)
				I-90 east (Kennedy Expressway) – Chicago	Exit 81A (I-90)
				IL 43 (Harlem Avenue) – Forest Park, Niles	Eastern terminus of IL 72
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       ETC       Incomplete access

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Illinois Route 72.

• Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 72

References