Interstate 57

Interstate 57
Route information
Maintained by MoDOT and IDOT
Length:	386.12 mi[1] (621.40 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-55 / US 60 in Sikeston, MO
	I-24 in Pulleys Mill, IL I-64 in Mt. Vernon, IL I-70 in Effingham, IL I-72 in Champaign, IL I-74 in Champaign, IL I-80 in Country Club Hills, IL I-294 in Blue Island, IL
North end:	I-94 in Chicago, IL
Location
States:	Missouri, Illinois
Counties:	MO: Scott, Mississippi IL: Alexander, Pulaski, Union, Johnson, Williamson, Franklin, Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Clay, Effingham, Shelby, Cumberland, Coles, Douglas, Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Will, Cook
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Missouri State Highway System Interstate US State Supplemental Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← US 56 MO Route 58 → ← IL 56 IL IL 57 →

Interstate 57 (I-57) is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Sikeston, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between the south (Memphis, New Orleans, etc.) and Chicago, bypassing St. Louis, Missouri. Between the junction of I-55 and I-57 in Sikeston, Missouri and the junction of I-55 and I-90/94 in Chicago, I-55 travels for 436 miles (702 km), while the combination of I-57 and I-94 is only 396 miles (637 km) long between the same two points. In fact, both the control cities on the overhead signs, as well as destination mileage signs, reference Memphis along southbound I-57, even as far north as its northern origin at I-94 in Chicago. Likewise, at its southern end, Chicago is the control city listed for I-57 on signs on northbound I-55 south of Sikeston, Missouri, even though I-55 also goes to Chicago.^[2]

As of 2015, I-57 has no spur routes, nor are any planned in the nearby future. At a length of just over 386 miles (621 km), it is the second longest two-digit Interstate Highway without an auxiliary route, behind I-49. I-57 has one business loop in Charleston.

Route description

Missouri

Cairo I-57 bridge between Missouri and Illinois

In the state of Missouri, Interstate 57 runs northbound from Sikeston to the Cairo I-57 Bridge over the Mississippi River south of Cairo, Illinois.

After ending southbound at Interstate 55, the highway continues as U.S. Route 60, which meets U.S. Route 67 at Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and from there U.S. Route 67 goes south to Little Rock, Arkansas. The state of Missouri has proposed extending the I-57 designation down this corridor. However, this plan conflicts with Arkansas' plans to extend the Interstate 30 designation north on U.S. Route 67, a road of which a long section already meets Interstate Highway standards.

From the start of I-57 northbound, the US 60 concurrency goes about 12 miles (19 km).

Illinois

The Dan Ryan Expressway West Leg (now more commonly referred to as I-57) at 99th St in 1970.

In the state of Illinois, Interstate 57 runs from the bridge over the Mississippi River north to Chicago. I-57 is the longest Interstate Highway in Illinois. Its route follows essentially the earlier route of US 51 in southernmost Illinois (US 51 has been diverted to I-57 where I-57 has always been close to old US 51 between Future City and Dongola) before taking a northeastward diagonal to Illinois 37, which remains intact as a town-to-town through route, past its interchange with Interstate 24 (the northwestern terminus of Interstate 24) near Pulleys Mill and a short duplex with Interstate 64 near Mount Vernon north to Effingham, where it has a short concurrence with Interstate 70. It then follows US 45 bypassing cities of Champaign and Urbana (where it meets Interstates 72 and 74), and heads north to Onarga whereafter it follows the formerly duplex path of US 45 and (now decommissioned in most of Illinois) old US 54 to Kankakee. At Kankakee it heads northward largely parallel to the now decommissioned route of old US 54 (since renumbered largely as Illinois 50) into greater Chicago, meeting Interstate 80 in Hazel Crest, Interstate 294 in Blue Island, and feeding Interstate 94 on Chicago's South Side.

Although I-57 serves as a long-distance bypass of St. Louis, the section between Mount Vernon and Pulleys Mill contains the most direct Interstate route between St. Louis and cities largely to the southeast of St. Louis (including Nashville and Atlanta). It serves as the northwestern terminus of Interstate 24 that leads southeastward to those cities and as the eastern terminus of Interstate 72 near Champaign.

The route is an easy way for Chicagoans to reach Shawnee National Forest in the southern tip of the state. It also serves as a major artery for college students in the state, running near Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, John A. Logan College in Carterville, Morthland College in West Frankfort, Rend Lake College in Ina, Lake Land College in Mattoon, Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Parkland College in Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana-Champaign, Kankakee Community College in Kankakee, Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, and Governors State University in University Park. Interstate 57 and Interstate 294 (Tri-State Tollway) did not have an intersection for a long time, though phase one finally opened on October 25, 2014.^[3] It was one of only a few examples where Interstates cross but didn't have interchanges with each other. Vehicles were directed to use Interstate 80 to access Interstate 294 instead, though U.S. Route 6 was another option.

I-57 remains the only Chicago expressway that does not have a commonly used name. Its Chicago-area portion was formerly known as the Dan Ryan Expressway–West Leg. I-57 was named the Ken Gray Expressway in southern Illinois after former U.S. Congressman Ken Gray (West Frankfort) for his work on getting the route planned through southern Illinois. A 20-mile (32 km) segment from Wentworth to Sauk Trail has been designated the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Trail^[4] but this is not intended as a navigational name.

History

The portion between the Route 121/US 45 exit and the Watson–Mason exit was completed and opened prior to July 1965, linking I-57 to I-70, and running in tandem with I-70 for several miles, with access to Indianapolis to the east, and St. Louis to the west.

A 21.5-mile (34.6 km) section of I-57 in Jefferson County from Bonnie (using a temporary road that is still partially visible from the northbound lanes) to Route 161 opened on December 9, 1969.^[5] The final section of I-57 in Illinois opened in December 1971 at Paxton.^[6]

The portion of Interstate 43 from Milwaukee to Green Bay was originally numbered as Interstate 57.^[7] The number was changed due to the existence of I-57 in Illinois.^[8]

I-57 was widened to six lanes in Effingham from 2011 until 2015. The work is still under way on the north end at the bridge over US 45.^[9]

Future

I-57 is slated to eventually be extended west along US 60 to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and then south along the US 67 corridor to Little Rock, ending at I-40. In April 2016, a provision designating US 67 from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, as "Future I-57" was added into the federal fiscal year 2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. The provision would also give Arkansas the ability to request any segment of the road built to Interstate Highway standards be officially added to the Interstate Highway System as I-57.^[10] Missouri has already upgraded the 50 miles (80 km) of US 60 between Sikeston and Poplar Bluff, and 12 miles (19 km) of US 67 from Poplar Bluff to US 160 near Harviell (about 12 miles [19 km] north of the Arkansas state line) to four lanes with at-grade crossings, which would have to be eliminated before the Interstate designation could be applied.^[11] In Arkansas, 118 miles (190 km) of Interstate-grade US 67 runs from I-40 to US 412 in Walnut Ridge.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has proposed widening a section of I-57 to six lanes of traffic from I-24 to I-64.^[12] This section of Interstate has some of the highest annual average daily traffic on I-57 outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, with truck traffic amounting up to 30% of all traffic in spots.^[13] This section of I-57 has been the site of several Interstate-closing accidents in the past 10 years, including an incident involving a train derailment over the Interstate near Benton in July 2004 and several fatal accidents in various construction zones.^[14] The section in Mt. Vernon is due to be widened by 2013 with construction having begun in late 2011.^[15]

IDOT and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority are building an interchange at the junction of I-57 with I-294.^[16] On October 25, 2014, the first phase of the interchange opened, providing access from I-57 north to I-294 north & from I-294 south to I-57 south. Phase one also provided access from I-294 south to 147th Street & 147th Street to I-294 north. Phase two will open in 2023/2024.

Exit list

State	County	Location	mi[17][18]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Missouri	Scott	Sikeston	0.000	0.000		US 60 west – Dexter, Poplar Bluff	Continuation past I-55; southern end of US 60 concurrency
			0.169– 0.538	0.272– 0.866	1	I-55 – Memphis, St. Louis	Current Southern terminus and signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north); I-55 exits 66A-B
	Mississippi	Long Prairie Township	4.916	7.912	4	Route B – Bertrand
		Charleston	10.745	17.292	10	Business Loop I-57 north / Route 105 – Charleston, East Prairie
			13.027	20.965	12	Business Loop I-57 south / US 60 east / US 62 / Route 77 – Charleston, Wyatt	Northern end of US 60 concurrency
Mississippi River			22.328 0.00	35.933 0.00	Interstate 57 Bridge Missouri–Illinois state line
Illinois	Alexander	​	1.4	2.3	1	US 51 south / IL 3 north – Cairo, Olive Branch	Southern end of US 51 concurrency; southern terminus of IL 3
	Pulaski	​	7.6	12.2	8	Mounds Road
		​	17.7	28.5	18	Ullin Road
	Union	​	24.4	39.3	24	Dongola Road
		​	25.0	40.2	25	US 51 north – Carbondale	Northern end of US 51 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		​	30.0	48.3	30	IL 146 – Anna, Vienna
		​	36.3	58.4	36	Lick Creek Road
	Johnson	​	39.7	63.9	40	Goreville Road
	Williamson	Goreville	43.9	70.7	44	I-24 east – Nashville
		​	45.2	72.7	45	IL 148
		Marion	52.9	85.1	53	Main Street -Marion	Former IL 13
			53.6	86.3	54	IL 13 – Harrisburg, Carbondale The Hill Avenue	IL 13 exit converted from cloverleaf interchange to single point urban interchange in 2013; northbound exit and southbound entrance for The Hill Avenue (formerly Morgan Avenue) also opened 2013;[19] signed as 54A (IL 13) and 54B (The Hill Avenue) northbound, exits combined southbound
		Johnston City	58.9	94.8	59	Johnston City, Herrin
	Franklin	West Frankfort	64.6	104.0	65	IL 149 – West Frankfort, Zeigler
		Benton	71.6	115.2	71	IL 14 – Christopher, Benton
		​	77.5	124.7	77	IL 154 – Sesser
	Jefferson	​	82.6	132.9	83	Ina
		​	91.5	147.3	92	I-64 east – Louisville	Southern end of I-64 concurrency; exit 78 on westbound I-64
		Mt. Vernon	93.7	150.8	94	Veterans Memorial Drive
		​	94.7	152.4	95	IL 15 – Ashley, Mt. Vernon
		​	96.2	154.8	96	I-64 west – St. Louis	Northern end of I-64 concurrency; exit 73 on eastbound I-64
		​	103.5	166.6	103	Dix
	Marion	​	109.2	175.7	109	IL 161 – Centralia
		Salem	116.4	187.3	116	US 50 – Salem, Sandoval
		​	127.2	204.7	127	Kinmundy, Patoka
	Fayette	​	135.4	217.9	135	IL 185 – Vandalia, Farina
	Clay	No major junctions
	Effingham	​	144.7	232.9	145	Edgewood
		​	150.7	242.5	151	Mason, Watson
		​	157.3	253.1	157	I-70 west – St. Louis	Southern end of I-70 concurrency; exit 92 on eastbound I-70
		Effingham	159.4	256.5	159	Fayette Avenue
			160.5	258.3	160	IL 32 / IL 33
		​	162.2	261.0	162	US 45 – Sigel, Effingham
		​	163.4	263.0	163	I-70 east – Indianapolis	Northern end of I-70 concurrency; exit 98 on westbound I-70
	Shelby	No major junctions
	Cumberland	​	177.0	284.9	177	US 45 – Neoga
	Coles	Mattoon	184.4	296.8	184	US 45 / IL 121 – Toledo, Mattoon
			189.6	305.1	190	IL 16 – Charleston, Mattoon	Signed as exits 190A (east) and 190B (west)
			192.4	309.6	192	CR 1000 north
	Douglas	Arcola	203.6	327.7	203	IL 133 – Arcola, Paris
		​	211.7	340.7	212	US 36 – Newman, Tuscola
	Champaign	​	219.9	353.9	220	US 45 – Tolono, Pesotum, Tuscola
		​	228.6	367.9	229	Monticello, Savoy, Tolono
		​	231.7	372.9	232	Curtis Road
		​	235.2	378.5	235	I-72 west – Springfield, Decatur University Avenue (via I-72 east)	Signed as 235A (University Avenue) and 235B (I-72 west); I-72 exits 182A-B
		​	237.4	382.1	237	I-74 – Indianapolis, Peoria	Signed as exits 237A (east) and 237B (west); I-74 exits 179A-B.
		​	238.4	383.7	238	Olympian Drive
		​	240.5	387.0	240	Market Street
		​	250.2	402.7	250	US 136 – Fisher, Rantoul
	Ford	Paxton	260.9	419.9	261	IL 9 – Paxton, Gibson City
	Iroquois	​	271.9	437.6	272	Buckley, Roberts	Roberts signed northbound only
		​	279.9	450.5	280	IL 54 to US 54 – Onarga, Roberts	Roberts signed southbound only
		​	282.9	455.3	283	US 24 – Gilman, Chatsworth
		​	292.7	471.1	293	IL 116 – Ashkum, Pontiac
		​	296.5	477.2	297	Clifton
		​	301.6	485.4	302	Chebanse
	Kankakee	​	307.5	494.9	308	US 45 / US 52 – Kankakee
		Kankakee	311.6	501.5	312	IL 17 – Kankakee, Momence
			315.3	507.4	315	IL 50 – Bradley, Bourbonnais
		Manteno	321.6	517.6	322	Manteno
	Will	Peotone	327.1	526.4	327	Wilmington, Peotone
		​	335.1	539.3	335	Manhattan, Monee
		​			337	Stuenkel Road, University Parkway	Access to Governors State University; interchange opened on October 30, 2015
	Cook	Richton Park	339.0	545.6	339	Sauk Trail
Matteson		340.69	548.29	340	US 30 / Lincoln Highway (21100 South)	Signed as exits 340A (east) and 340B (west) southbound
		342.21	550.73	342	Vollmer Road	Signed as exits 342A (east) and 342B (west) southbound
Oak Forest		344.67– 344.86	554.69– 555.00	345	I-80 to I-294 south – Indiana, Iowa	Signed as exits 345A (east) & 345B (west); I-80 exits 151A-B.
		346.62	557.83	346	167th Street	Cloverleaf with collector–distributor lanes
Markham		347.90	559.89	348	US 6 (159th Street)	Cloverleaf with collector–distributor lanes
Blue Island				349	I-294 north (Tri-State Tollway) – Wisconsin	Northbound exit to northbound I-294 and southbound entrance from southbound I-294 only, opened 10-25-2014; complete interchange opening 2023–24; I-294 south exit 7.
Posen		350.15	563.51	350	IL 83 (147th Street, Sibley Boulevard)
Calumet Park		353.25	568.50	353	127th Street, Burr Oak Avenue (12700 South)
Calumet Park–Chicago line		354.25	570.11	354	119th Street
Chicago		355.27	571.75	355	111th Street, Monterey Avenue (11200 South)
		357.32	575.05	357	IL 1 (Halsted Street (800 West))
		358.47	576.90		Wentworth Avenue (200 W)	No exit number; southbound exit only for traffic from EB I-94
		363.57– 364.12	585.11– 585.99	—	I-94 east (Bishop Ford Freeway) – Indiana I-94 west (Dan Ryan Expressway) – Chicago Loop	Northbound exit & southbound entrance; northern terminus; I-94 exit 63.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

In popular culture

• The Champaign band Braid recorded a song titled "Interstate 57" on their debut album, Frankie Welfare Boy Age Five.
• Carbondale pop punk band The Copyrights recorded a song titled "57 North" on their 4th album, Learn The Hard Way.
• Bill McAlister from Chicago has a band called "I-57 South" and recorded "I-57" on the album Illinois Opry. This song makes several references along the highway such as the cross in Effingham and Chambana.

See also

• Illinois portal
• Missouri portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 57.

Route map: Bing / Google

• Illinois Highway Ends: Interstate 57

Main Interstate Highways
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Unsigned	A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists	Primary Main Suffixed Temporary Future Auxiliary Main Other Standards Business Bypassed Gaps Tolled
Major Interstates highlighted