Interstate 55

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Interstate 55 is an interstate highway in the central United States. Like other "interstates," it is commonly referred to as I-55. Its odd number indicates that it is primarily a north-south highway. It goes from Laplace, Louisiana (some 25 miles (40 km) west of New Orleans) at Interstate 10 to Chicago, Illinois at U.S. Highway 41 (Lake Shore Drive) next to McCormick Place.

In the Chicagoland area the expressway is referred to as the Adlai E. Stevenson Expressway in honor of one of Illinois' favorite sons.

The section of Interstate 55 between Chicago and St. Louis was built as a bypass for U.S. Highway 66.

Contents 1 Length 2 Major Cities Along the Route 3 Intersections with other Interstates 4 Spur Routes 5 Notes 6 Reference

Length

Miles	km	state
66	107	Louisiana
290.494	471	Mississippi
12	19	Tennessee
72	117	Arkansas
210	340	Missouri
313	507	Illinois
963.494	1,560.860	Total

Major Cities Along the Route

• Jackson, Mississippi
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Saint Louis, Missouri
• Springfield, Illinois
• Bloomington, Illinois
• Chicago, Illinois

Intersections with other Interstates

• Interstate 10 in Laplace, Louisiana
• Interstate 12 in Hammond, Louisiana
• Interstate 20 in Jackson, Mississippi
• Interstate 40 in West Memphis, Arkansas (the two roads are joined through the city)
• Interstate 57 in Miner, Missouri
• Interstate 44 in Saint Louis, Missouri
• Interstate 64 in Saint Louis, Missouri
• Interstate 70 in Saint Louis, Missouri. They stay joined until an exit near Troy, Illinois.
• Interstate 72 in Springfield, Illinois
• Interstate 74 in Normal, Illinois
• Interstate 39 in Normal, Illinois
• Interstate 80 in Shorewood, Illinois
• Interstate 90 in Chicago, Illinois
• Interstate 94 in Chicago, Illinois

Spur Routes

• Turrell to Jonesboro, Arkansas - I-555 (future)
• Caruthersville, Missouri to Dyersburg, Tennessee - I-155
• Saint Louis, Missouri - I-255
• Spur to Peoria, Illinois - I-155
• Metropolitan Chicago, Illinois - I-355

	edit Three-digit Interstates from Interstate 55
I-155	Illinois - Missouri-Tennessee
I-255	Missouri
I-355	Illinois
past/future	I-555: Arkansas

Notes

• I-255 was a bypass around Memphis, Tennessee; it is now I-240.

• A portion of I-55 in Saint Louis County, Missouri is named the Rosa Parks Highway.

• I-755 was planned to bypass downtown St. Louis, but the freeway was never built. Currently, the city can be bypassed by I-255, I-270 or I-170, known as the Inner Belt Expressway.

• I-55 crosses the Mississippi River twice — once at Memphis, Tennessee and then again at St. Louis, Missouri.

• I-55 is often called the Mississippi Delta Highway because of its proximity to the Mississippi River.

• Law enforcement officials in Chicago have noted that Interstate 55, as well as its easterly counterpart Interstate 65, are often used to transport firearms into Chicago illegally. These weapons are purchased in southern states, where gun laws are much more lenient than in either of Illinois or Indiana. The weapons are then sold on the black market to gang members for substantial profit.

• Law enforcement authorities have also observed that the convenient intersections of I-55 and I-74 have rendered the Bloomington-Normal area an unwitting center for drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

• When the highway was being planned during the 1960s, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner made an effort to have the road redirected near the larger city of Peoria instead of the more straightforward route through the Bloomington-Normal area. This ultimately failed plan was ridiculed in the press as the "Kerner Curve". Given some of the problems noted above, some have editorialized that maybe the Kerner Curve was not such a bad idea after all.

Reference

• 2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005" - newest feature- interstate mileage by state

edit Primary Interstate Highways
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 Interstate Highways
A-1	A-2	A-3	A-4	PRI-1	PRI-2	PRI-3
Lists Two-digit Interstates - Three-digit Interstates Gaps in Interstates - Intrastate Interstates Interstate standards - Proposed Interstates