Interstate Highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
that parallels the old
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, at I-94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between the South ( Memphis,
, etc.) and Chicago, bypassing St. Louis, Missouri and Springfield, Illinois. Between the junction of I-55 and I-57 in Sikeston and the junction of I-55 and I-90/I-94 in Chicago, I-55 travels for , while the combination of I-57 and I-94 is only long between the same two points. In fact, both the control cities on the overhead signs and the 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, even though I-55 also goes to Chicago.
, I-57 has no spur routes nor are any planned for the near future. At a length of just over , it is the second-longest two-digit Interstate Highway without an auxiliary route, behind I-49. I-57 has one business loop in Charleston, Missouri.
Route description
Missouri
In the state of
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, I-57 runs northbound from Sikeston to the
Cairo I-57 Bridge
The Cairo I-57 Bridge is a steel through arch bridge carrying 4 lanes of Interstate 57 across the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois. It was opened in 1978.
See also
*
*
*
*
* List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
This is a li ...
over the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
north of
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County.
The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysse ...
.
After ending southbound at I-55, the highway continues as U.S. Route 60 (US 60), which meets US 67 at Poplar Bluff, and, from there, US 67 goes south to
Little Rock, Arkansas
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
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, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
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.
From the start of I-57 northbound, the US 60 concurrency goes about .
Illinois
In the state of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, I-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 Route 37 (IL 37), which remains intact as a town-to-town through route, past its interchange with I-24 (the northwestern terminus of I-24) near Pulleys Mill and a short duplex with I-64 near Mount Vernon north to Effingham, where it has a short concurrence with I-70. It then follows US 45, bypassing Champaign (where it meets I-72 and
I-74
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Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa ( Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interch ...
), 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 IL 50) into the Chicago area, meeting I-80 in Hazel Crest, I-294 in
Blue Island
Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,55 ...
, and feeding I-94 on Chicago's South Side.
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
Shawnee Community College (SCC) is a public community college in Ullin, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System.
History
Shawnee Community College was founded in 1967 as Shawnee College to allow students from Community Col ...
John A. Logan College
John A. Logan College is a public community college in Carterville, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System. As of 2016, it had a total enrollment of 4,424 students: 1,990 full- and 2,434 part-time.Carterville, Morthland College in West Frankfort,
Rend Lake College
Rend Lake College (RLC) is a public community college in Ina, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System (ICCS).
History
Rend Lake College was founded in 1955 as Mt. Vernon Community College to allow students from High School ...
Parkland College
Parkland College is a public community college in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505 which includes parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iro ...
in Champaign,
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Un ...
Kankakee Community College
Kankakee Community College (KCC) is a public community college in Kankakee, Illinois. The main campus is located on the southern border of the city of Kankakee and spans along the banks of the Kankakee River. KCC is accredited by the Commiss ...
Dan Ryan Expressway
The Dan Ryan Expressway is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near Downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both I-90 and I-94 south to 66th Street, ...
–West Leg. I-57 was named the Ken Gray Expressway in southern Illinois after former US Congressman Ken Gray (West Frankfort) for his work on getting the route planned through southern Illinois. A segment from Wentworth to Sauk Trail has been designated the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Trail, but this is not intended as a navigational name.
History
The oldest segment of I-57 is a strip running east of Bradley to Kankakee labeled on the 1959 Illinois state highway map. Two years later, a stretch of I-57 from Dongola north to Marion opened on September 26, 1961. Another portion between the IL 121/ US 45 exit and the
Watson
Watson may refer to:
Companies
* Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals
* A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa
* Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center
* Watson Systems, make ...
–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, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...
Bonnie
Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...
(using a temporary road that is still partially visible from the northbound lanes) to IL 161 later opened on December 9, 1969. The portion of I-57 in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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(known as the Dan Ryan West Leg Extension) was constructed and opened in segments between 1963 and 1970. It remains the most recent Interstate Highway to be established within the city. The final section of I-57 in Illinois opened in December 1971 at Paxton.
The portion of
I-43
Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highway& ...
from
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
to Green Bay was originally numbered as Interstate 57. The number was changed due to the existence of I-57 in Illinois.
I-57 was widened to six lanes in Effingham from 2011 until 2016.
For many years, an interchange at the junction of I-57 with I-294 did not exist. It was one of the few places in the US where Interstates cross but have no interchange. The
Illinois Department of Transportation
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers f ...
(IDOT) and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) opened Phase 1 of a new interchange in 2014, providing access from I-57 north to I-294 north and from I-294 south to I-57 south. Phase 2 which completed the remaining movements except for northbound I-57 to southbound I-294 and northbound I-294 to southbound I-57 was opened to traffic on September 11, 2022.
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 North Little Rock, Arkansas, 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 and officially became law in 2017.
Missouri has already upgraded of the US 60/US 67 corridor between
Sikeston
Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the state of Missouri, United States. It is situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way ...
and Route 158 near Harviell to a mixture of freeway and expressway segments. All at-grade crossings along the corridor would have to be eliminated before the Interstate designation could be applied. A new freeway segment from Route 158 to just south of Neelyville near County Road 274 (about north of the Arkansas border) has been announced as part of a cost share program and is in the planning stages. In August 2022, redesign of the US 67 and U.S. Route 160/ Route 158 interchange began.
In Arkansas, of Interstate-grade US 67 runs from I-40 to US 412 in Walnut Ridge, leaving a segment of approximately of new Interstate-grade highway along US 67 that still needs to be built in northeastern Arkansas. On February 23, 2018, Arkansas state officials unveiled a "Future I-57" sign to be posted along the corridor of US 67.
Exit list
Charleston business loop
Interstate 57 Business (I-57 Bus.) in Charleston begins at I-57 exit 10. From this
diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road.
Design
The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...
, it runs north in a concurrency with Route 105 along South Main Street into the city center. It then turns east onto Marshall Street, which also carries US 62 and Route 77. The business route ends at I-57 exit 12, with US 62 and Route 77 continuing to the east.