Illinois Route 72 is an east–west state highway in northern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It runs from the intersection with Illinois Route 73 north of

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

east to Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue) in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. This is a distance of .

Route description

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 Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

— 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 Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorpor ...

, and

Hoffman Estates Hoffman Estates is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village previously served as the headquarters for Sears and is one of the American headquarter ...

. Illinois 72 runs concurrently for one block with

Illinois Route 83 Illinois Route 83 (IL 83) is a major north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. It stretches from U.S. Route 30 (US 30, Lincoln Highway) by Lynwood and Dyer, Indiana, north to the Wisconsin border by Antioch at Wisconsin ...

in Elk Grove Township, and

Illinois Route 47 Illinois Route 47 (IL 47) is a largely rural north–south state highway that runs from the Wisconsin state border at Highway 120 (Wisconsin), Highway 120 near Hebron, Illinois, Hebron, to Illinois Route 10, IL 10, just south of I ...

and U.S. Highway 20 by Starks, an unincorporated village approximately from Chicago. The latter is a

Wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

, 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. It was once part of the Galena-Chicago Stagecoach Trail.

History

SBI Route 72 originally ran from

to Starks. It was extended east in 1937 and 1938 to East Dundee, and then to

. In 1968, the designation of IL 72 was truncated back to IL 43 (Harlem Avenue), lopping off . In 1982, it was shortened again, this time to Illinois Route 73. The crash site of

American Airlines Flight 191 American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. On the afternoon of May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating th ...

is located along the road as Touhy Avenue, just north of the road and north of

near a trailer park.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Commons category, Illinois Route 72
Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 72
072 Transportation in Carroll County, Illinois Transportation in Ogle County, Illinois Transportation in DeKalb County, Illinois Transportation in Kane County, Illinois Transportation in Cook County, Illinois

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links