Interstate 55 

Interstate 55
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 963.5 micitation 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 primarily a north-south highway. It goes from Laplace, Louisiana (25 miles (40 km) 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 a bypass for U.S. Highway 66.

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

Contents

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
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs*

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.

Mississippi

Main article: Interstate 55 in Mississippi

In Mississippi, I-55 runs 290.5 miles (467.5 km) from the Louisiana border near Osyka to Southaven on the Tennessee border, just south of Memphis. Major cities I-55 passes through are McComb, Jackson, and Southaven. The highway parallels U.S. 51 during its trek roughly through the center of the Magnolia State.

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

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

I-55 is often called the Mississippi Delta Highway because of its proximity to the Mississippi River.citation needed The 8 miles (13 km) from Hernando to the Tennessee state line are co-signed with the newer I-69.

Tennessee

Main article: Interstate 55 in Tennessee

I-55 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 the freeway, which passes through a heavily industrialized section, contains numerous low bridges, and an extremely tight 270-degree cloverleaf turn northbound at Crump Boulevard. The Tennessee Department of Transportation currently has an Interchange Improvement Project for this portion. Truck traffic heading to and from Arkansas is thus 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.

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 Interstate 555.

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. Where Interstate 44 merges in and it joins Interstate 64 and Interstate 70 on the Poplar Street Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River into Illinois.

A section of the I-55 in southern St. Louis County, Missouri has been named the "Rosa Parks Freeway" although the general public still refers to it as I-55.

On July 26, 2007, a small section of I-55 at the St. Louis city/county line was named "Thomas G. Smith Jr. Memorial Freeway".

Illinois

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

Interstate 55 largely follows the former U.S. Route 66 alignment through the state. Crossing over into Illinois, I-55, near the I-270/I-70 split, is referred to as the Paul Simon Freeway. This is in reference to the local politician Paul Simon. Further north, between the St. Louis area and Springfield, IL, I-55 is named The Vince Demuzio Expressway in reference to Illinois state politician Vince Demuzio. I-55 parallels the historical U.S. Route 66 from East St. Louis to Chicago, to Joliet, passing near Springfield and Bloomington/Normal.

When the freeway 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". The function of an Interstate highway connection between Springfield and Peoria was later filled by Interstate 155, which connects 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 one of Illinois' favorite sons. The general public typically refers to this freeway as either "I-55" or "The Stevenson"; the terms are used interchangeably, but "The Stevenson" tends to be more popular in Chicago proper while "I-55" is more commonly used in the suburbs.

Major intersections

Auxiliary routes

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 55

References

  1. ^ Unknown (2000-01-01). "Despite dead-end for I-55's Kerner Curve, I-74 changed area forever", Peoria Journal-Star. Retrieved on 17 February 2008. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Interstate 55
Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 highlighted)		 Interstate Highway marker
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 >