Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south

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 ...

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 ...

for much of its route. It runs from

Sikeston, Missouri 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 ...

, at

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, at I-94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between the South (

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, etc.) and Chicago, bypassing St. Louis, Missouri and

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

. 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 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas s ...

. I-57 has one business loop in

Charleston, Missouri Charleston is a city in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,056 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Mississippi County. It is a home to a local correctional facility. History Charleston is the largest to ...

Route description

Missouri

In the state of

, 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

, the highway continues as U.S. Route 60 (US 60), which meets US 67 at

Poplar Bluff Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...

, and, from there, US 67 goes south to

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

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

Illinois

In the state of

, 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 Illinois Route 37, Illinois 37 or IL 37, is a north–south state highway in southern Illinois. IL 37's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and IL 3 in Cairo and the northern terminus is at US 45 in Watson. Route ...

(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 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

near

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

north to Effingham, where it has a short concurrence with

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...

. It then follows US 45, bypassing

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

(where it meets I-72 and

I-74 } 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 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

Hazel Crest Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,382 at the 2020 census. History Hazel Crest was first settled in 1870 in a farming community known as South Harvey. An enterprising newspaper editor named ...

I-294 Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/ I-94 and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to ...

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 The Shawnee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, United States. Administered by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, it consists of approximately 280,000 acres (1,100 km²) ...

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 ...

in Ullin, the main campus of

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

in Carbondale,

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 Morthland College (MC) was a private Christian liberal arts college in West Frankfort, Illinois. The school was founded in 2009 by Dr. Tim Morthland and opened in 2011 as a small, co-educational liberal arts college. The college had an initial enr ...

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 ...

in Ina,

Lake Land College Lake Land College is a public community college in Mattoon, Illinois. It was founded in 1966. As of the Fall 2021 semester Lake Land serves 3,644 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region. The campus has seven major buildings plus ...

in Mattoon,

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

in Charleston,

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 ...

Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...

–Champaign,

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 ...

in Kankakee,

Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...

Bourbonnais Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins. History The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...

, and

Governors State University Governors State University (Governors State or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. GSU was founded in 1969. It is a public university offering degree programs at the und ...

in University Park. 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 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 The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

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 Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

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 ...

, to the east and St. Louis, Missouri, to the west. A section of I-57 in Jefferson County from

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 , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

(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

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 Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...

, and then south along the US 67 corridor to

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

, ending at

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

. In April 2016, a provision designating US 67 from North Little Rock to

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas Walnut Ridge is a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. The city is the county seat of Lawrence County. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north ...

, 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.

References

External links