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 Miner, 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 to I-294 in Country Club Hills, IL
North end:	I-94 in Chicago, IL
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Business Missouri Highways Supplemental Illinois state highway system Illinois Tollway system ← 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 2010^[update], I-57 has no spur routes, nor are any planned in the near future. At a length of just over 386 miles (621 km), it is the longest two-digit interstate highway without an auxiliary route. I-57 has one Business Loop in Charleston.

Route description [edit]

Missouri [edit]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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

Illinois [edit]

The Dan Ryan Expressway West Leg (now more commonly referred to as I-57) at Genoa Road 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 Chicago suburbs 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 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 Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Rend Lake College in Ina, 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 currently does not have an intersection with Interstate 294 (Tri-State Tollway) in northeastern Illinois, though one is planned.^[3] It is one of only a few examples where Interstates cross but do not have interchanges with each other. Vehicles are directed to use Interstate 80 to access Interstate 294 instead, though U.S. Route 6 is 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.

History [edit]

A 21.5 mile section of I-57 in Jefferson County from Bonnie (using a temporary road that is still partially visible from the northbound lanes) to Illinois Route 161 opened on December 9, 1969.^[4] The final section of I-57 in Illinois opened in December 1971 at Paxton, IL.^[5]

The portion of Interstate 43 from Milwaukee to Green Bay was originally numbered as Interstate 57.^[6] The number was changed due to the existence of I-57 in Illinois.^[7]

Future [edit]

Interstate 57 may eventually be extended west along the U.S Route 60 corridor and then turn south along the future U.S Route 67 freeway corridor and head south to Little Rock, Arkansas. However, it conflicts with Arkansas's plans to extend Interstate 30 along that alignment.

Illinois Department of Transportation has proposed widening a section of I-57 to six lanes of traffic from I-24 to I-64.^[8] This section of interstate has some of the highest AADT on I-57 outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, with truck traffic amounting up to 30% of all traffic in spots.^[9] 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.^[10] The section in Mt. Vernon is due to be widened by 2013 with construction having begun in late 2011.^[11]

The IDOT and the Illinois Toll Highway Authority have announced plans to build an interchange at the junction of Interstate 57 with Interstate 294, one of only two locations where interstate highways cross without an interchange.^[12]

In popular culture [edit]

The Champaign, Illinois, band Braid recorded a song titled "Interstate 57" on its debut album, Frankie Welfare Boy Age Five.

Exit list [edit]

This section contains a table that is missing mileposts for one or more junctions. Please help by adding the missing mileposts.

County	Location	Mile[13]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Scott	Sikeston	0.000	0.000		US 60 west – Dexter, Poplar Bluff	Continuation past I-55
		0.169– 0.538	0.272– 0.866	1	I-55 – Memphis, St. Louis	Signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north)
Mississippi	Long Prairie Township	4.916	7.912	4	Route B – Bertrand
	Charleston	10.745	17.292	10	I-57 Bus. north / Route 105 – Charleston, East Prairie
		13.027	20.965	12	I-57 Bus. south / US 60 east / US 62 / Route 77 – Charleston, Wyatt	North end of US 60 overlap
Mississippi River		22.328 0.00	35.933 0.00	Interstate 57 Bridge Missouri–Illinois state line
Alexander				1	US 51 south / IL 3 – Cairo	South end of US 51 overlap
Pulaski				8	Mounds Road
				18	Ullin Road
Union				24	Dongola Road
				25	US 51 north – Carbondale	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				30	IL 146 – Anna, Vienna
				36	Lick Creek Road
Johnson				40	Goreville Road
Williamson	Goreville			44	I-24 east – Nashville
				45	IL 148
	Marion			53	Main Street – Marion	Former IL 13
				54	IL 13 – Harrisburg, Marion, Carbondale	In the process of conversion to a SPUI; currently has a southbound exit and northbound entrance for Morgan Street, a shortcut to the Illinois Centre/Williamson County Shopping Area. The Morgan St interchange is in the process of being completed into a full diamond interchange
	Johnston City			59	Johnston City, Herrin
Franklin	West Frankfort			65	IL 149 – West Frankfort, Zeigler
	Benton			71	IL 14 – Christopher, Benton
				77	IL 154 – Sesser
Jefferson				83	Ina
				92	I-64 east – Louisville	South end of I-64 overlap
	Mt. Vernon			94	Veterans Memorial Drive
				95	IL 15 – Ashley, Mt. Vernon
				96	I-64 west – St. Louis	North end of I-64 overlap
				103	Dix
Marion				109	IL 161 – Centralia
	Salem			116	US 50 – Salem, Sandoval
				127	Kinmundy, Patoka
Fayette				135	IL 185 – Vandalia, Farina
Clay	No major junctions
Effingham				145	Edgewood
				151	Mason, Watson
				157	I-70 west – St. Louis	South end of I-70 overlap
	Effingham			159	Fayette Avenue – Effingham
				160	IL 32 / IL 33
				162	US 45 – Sigel, Effingham	Effingham signed southbound only
				163	I-70 east – Indianapolis	North end of I-70 overlap
Shelby	No major junctions
Cumberland				177	US 45 – Neoga
Coles	Mattoon			184	US 45 / IL 121 – Toledo, Mattoon
				190	IL 16 – Charleston, Mattoon	Signed as exits 190A (east) and 190B (west)
				192	CR 1000 north
Douglas	Arcola			203	IL 133 – Arcola, Paris
				212	US 36 – Newman, Tuscola
Champaign				220	US 45 – Tolono, Pesotum, Tuscola
				229	Monticello, Savoy, Tolono
	Champaign			232	Curtis Road
				235A	University Avenue (via I-72 east)
				235B	I-72 west – Springfield, Decatur
				237	I-74	Signed as exits 237A (east) and 237B (west)
				238	Olympian Drive
				240	Market Street
				250	US 136 – Fisher, Rantoul
Ford	Paxton			261	IL 9 – Paxton, Gibson City
Iroquois				272	Buckley, Roberts	Roberts signed northbound only
				280	IL 54 – Onarga, Roberts	Roberts signed southbound only
				283	US 24 – Gilman, Chatsworth
				293	IL 116 – Ashkum, Pontiac
				297	Clifton
				302	Chebanse
Kankakee				308	US 45 / US 52 – Kankakee
	Kankakee			312	IL 17 – Kankakee, Momence
				315	IL 50 – Bradley, Bourbonnais
	Manteno			322	Manteno
Will	Peotone			327	Wilmington, Peotone
				335	Manhattan, Monee
Cook	Richton Park			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 – Indiana, Iowa	Signed as exits 345A (east) and 345B (west)
		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
	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	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 number; Southbound exit only for traffic from EB I-94(corresponding entrance to I-94 west from Michigan Avenue)
		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 and southbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Route map: Google / Bing

	Illinois portal
	Missouri portal
	U.S. Roads portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 57

• Illinois Highway Ends: Interstate 57

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