Interstate 55

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Interstate 55 shield
Interstate 55
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 963.5 mi[citation needed] (1560.9 km)
South end: I-10 in Laplace, LA
Major
junctions:		 I-20 in Jackson, MS
I-40 near Memphis, TN
I-44 / I-64 / I-70 in St. Louis, MO
I-80 near Joliet, IL
I-90 / I-94 in Chicago, IL
North end: US 41 in Chicago, IL

Interstate 55 (I - 55) is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north-south Interstate Highway. I - 55 goes from Laplace, Louisiana (25 miles (40 kilometers) west of New Orleans) at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 (Lake Shore Drive), at McCormick Place.

The section of I-55 between Chicago and St. Louis was built as an alternate route for U.S. Highway 66.

I-55 is the only Interstate Highway that crosses the Mississippi River twice: once at Memphis, Tennessee, and again at St. Louis, Missouri.

In 2009, officials in Green Bay, Wisconsin, began a campaign to have U.S. Highway 41 in that area designated as I-55. A section of U.S.-41 in Wisconsin is in the process of being rebuilt as an Interstate Highway. Some local officials in the Green Bay area think that designating U.S.-41 as Interstate 55 would bring additional attention to that area. The main alternative is designating that highway as a spur of I - 43. (Sourced from the Green Bay Press Gazette 02-08-09)

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
  mi km
LA 65.81 105.91
MS 290.41 467.37
TN 12.28 19.76
AR 72.22 116.22
MO 210.45 338.69
IL 313.08 503.85
Total 964.25 1,551.81
Selected Cities and Towns on I - 55
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs*

[edit] Louisiana

Main article: Interstate 55 in Louisiana

In Louisiana, I-55 runs nearly 66 miles (106 km) from south to north, from Interstate 10 near Laplace - roughly 20 miles (32 km) west of New Orleans - to the Mississippi state line near Kentwood, Louisiana. Approximately 1/3 of the distance consists of the Manchac Swamp bridge, supposedly the third-longest viaduct in the world.

[edit] Mississippi

Main article: Interstate 55 in Mississippi

In Mississippi, I - 55 runs 290.5 miles (467.5 km) from the Louisiana border near Osyka, Mississippi to Southaven on the Tennessee border, just south of Memphis. Noteworthy cities and towns that I - 55 passes through or close by to are McComb, Jackson, and Grenada. This highway parallels U.S. 51 in its path roughly through the center of Mississippi.

The Mississippean section of I - 55 is defined in the Mississippi Code § 65-3-3.

I-44/55/64/70 on one highway sign in downtown St. Louis

I - 55 in this area is sometimes called the Mississippi Delta Highway because of its proximity to the Mississippi River.[citation needed] The eight miles (13 km) from Hernando to the Tennessee state line coincide with the newer Interstate 69.

[edit] Tennessee

Main article: Interstate 55 in Tennessee

I - 55 in Tennessee lies entirely within the city of Memphis, passing through the southern and western parts of the city and providing a bypass of downtown for motorists who do not want to take Interstates I - 240 and I - 40 through downtown to cross the Mississippi River. However, the western portion of this highway, which passes through an industrialized section of the city, contains numerous low-clearance bridges, and also an very tight 270 degree cloverleaf turn northbound at Crump Boulevard. The Tennessee Department of Transportation currently has an Interchange Improvement Project for this portion. Heavy truck traffic heading to and from Arkansas in this area is hence directed to detour via I - 240 and I - 40.

I - 255 was the former numbering of I - 240 between I - 55 and I - 40 through midtown Memphis, Tennessee.

[edit] Arkansas

Main article: Interstate 55 in Arkansas

I - 55 enters Arkansas from Tennessee as it crosses the Mississippi river. It overlaps I - 40 for approximately 2.8 miles (4.5 km) in West Memphis. After separating from I - 40, I - 55 turns northward and runs to the Missouri border, via the intersection with the stretch of U.S.-63 that holds the future alignment of the new Arkansas Interstate 555.

[edit] Missouri

Main article: Interstate 55 in Missouri

In Missouri, I-55 runs from the southeastern part of the state, at the Arkansas border, to St. Louis. In this city, Interstate 44 merges in with I-55, and both join Interstate 64 and Interstate 70 (on the Poplar Street Bridge), then cross the Mississippi River into Illinois.

Among the cities and towns served by I-55 in Missouri is Cape Girardeau.

[edit] Illinois

Main articles: Interstate 55 in Illinois and Stevenson Expressway
Northern terminus at Lake Shore Drive/U.S. Route 41.

I-55 largely follows the former U.S. 66 route through Illinois. Entering Illinois from the south, I-55, near the I-270/I-70 split, is referred to as the Paul Simon Freeway. This is in reference to the former U.S. Congressman Paul Simon from this region. Further north, between the St. Louis area and Springfield, I-55 is named The Vince Demuzio Expressway in reference to Illinois state politician Vince Demuzio. I-55 parallels the historic U.S. Route 66 from East St. Louis to Joliet, Illinois, passing around the state capital of Springfield, and also Bloomington.

When this expressway was being planned during the 1960s, the Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr., made an effort to have the expressway routed close to the larger city of Peoria instead of the straighter route through the Bloomington-Normal area. This ultimately failed plan was ridiculed in the press as the "Kerner Curve". The transportation need of an expressway connection between Springfield and Peoria was later filled by the spur route Interstate 155. This also connects with nearby Lincoln and Morton and forms a triangle between the three population centers in Central Illinois.[1]

In the Chicago area, the expressway is referred to as the Adlai E. Stevenson Expressway in honor of Adlai E. Stevenson II.

[edit] Major intersections

[edit] Auxiliary routes

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 55
I-55.svg

[edit] References

  1. ^ Unknown (2000-01-01). "Despite dead-end for I-55's Kerner Curve, I-74 changed area forever". Peoria Journal-Star. http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:PJSB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB6E83A6403BFAB&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 

[edit] External links

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Main Interstate Highways (major interstates highlighted)
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68 69
70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Primary  Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
Auxiliary  Main - Future - Unsigned
Other  Standards - Business - Bypassed
Browse numbered routes
< MS 53 MS MS 57 >
< US 54 MO US 56 >
< IL 54 IL IL 56 >
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