Illinois Route 59
Sutton Road Kerry Sheridan Memorial Highway | ||||
IL 59 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by IDOT | ||||
Length | 71.13 mi[1] (114.47 km) | |||
Existed | 1924[2]–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ![]() | |||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
North end | ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Illinois | |||
Counties | Will, DuPage, Cook, Lake | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Illinois Route 59 is a north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs south from Illinois Route 173 in Antioch to I-55 in Shorewood, spanning the north–south width of Chicago's western suburbs. This is a distance of 71.13 miles (114.47 km).[1]
Route description
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/IL_Route_59.jpg/220px-IL_Route_59.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Illinois_132_Western_Terminus.png/220px-Illinois_132_Western_Terminus.png)
IL 59 is a major four-lane arterial for most of its length, running parallel to and about five miles (8 km) east of the Fox River in Illinois, and thirty miles (48 km) west of Chicago's State Street. It is especially congested in the suburbs of Aurora and Naperville, where traffic counts average 40,000-55,000 vehicles per day. To accommodate the congestion, the 7.5-mile stretch between Ferry Road and 95th Street has been widened to six lanes. Most portions along IL 59 are zoned for commercial uses, however there are extensive stretches of residential areas along the road in West Chicago, Barrington, and Fox Lake Hills. IL 59 is the only numbered highway with a Metra station named after it: the Route 59 station on the BNSF Line, which differentiates the station from the Naperville and Aurora stations.[3]
IL 59 is called Lake Street in Antioch, Fox Lake Road in Fox Lake Hills, Grand Avenue in portions of Ingleside and eastern Fox Lake, Sutton Road from South Barrington to Bartlett, Neltnor Boulevard in West Chicago, Hough Street in Barrington, and Brook Forest Avenue and Cottage Street in Shorewood.
IL 59 overlaps U.S. Route 12 (Rand Road) between Wauconda and Fox Lake.
In almost every town or village spanning IL 59, retail development and residential sprawl can be found. The IL 59 corridor includes regional shopping areas in the Naperville/Aurora area, the Hoffman Estates/South Barrington/Streamwood area, the Plainfield area, and the Joliet/Shorewood area. The IL 59 corridor also includes large community retail areas in Volo/Fox Lake, Wauconda, Bartlett, West Chicago, and Warrenville. IL 59 also travels through the Barrington Historic District and is proximate to significant office complexes and job centers at its junctions with Interstate 90 and Interstate 88; these intersecting corridors of commerce are known as the Golden Corridor and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor respectively. The regional shopping malls Westfield Fox Valley in Aurora and The Arboretum of South Barrington can also be found along the IL 59 corridor.
History
[edit]SBI Route 59 ran from Joliet to Antioch on the current IL 59. IL 59 was replaced by U.S. Route 66 as U.S. 66 made its way onto a new highway in 1940; by 1957, IL 59 had been returned to its original state.[2]
The Illinois Department of Transportation opened a diverging diamond interchange at IL 59 and Interstate 88 in September 2015.[4]
Major intersections
[edit]County | Location | mi[5] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Will | Shorewood | 0.0 | 0.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() Gateway Boulevard | Southern terminus of IL 59; southern end of Kerry Sheridan Memorial Highway; I-55 exit 251; a diverging-diamond interchange (DDI) since October 7, 2024[6][7] |
1.5 | 2.4 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Joliet–Shorewood city line | 3.1 | 5.0 | Northern end of Kerry Sheridan Memorial Highway | ||
Joliet–Plainfield city line | 4.5 | 7.2 | Southern end of PFC Andrew Meari Memorial Highway | ||
Plainfield | 7.2 | 11.6 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern end of US 30/Lincoln Highway concurrency | |
7.4 | 11.9 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of Lincoln Highway concurrency | ||
7.8 | 12.6 | ![]() | Northern end of PFC Andrew Meari Memorial Highway | ||
8.5 | 13.7 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of US 30 concurrency | ||
Naperville | 12.5 | 20.1 | ![]() ![]() | Western terminus of CR 66 | |
DuPage | Aurora–Naperville city line | 17.1 | 27.5 | ![]() | |
17.5 | 28.2 | ![]() | |||
Naperville | 21.0 | 33.8 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Diverging diamond interchange; I-88 exit 123 | |
21.6 | 34.8 | ![]() | |||
Warrenville | 22.2 | 35.7 | ![]() | ||
West Chicago | 25.2 | 40.6 | ![]() | Interchange | |
26.8 | 43.1 | ![]() ![]() | Western terminus of CR 21 | ||
29.2 | 47.0 | ![]() | Red light camera enforcement intersection (southbound only) | ||
Bartlett | 31.4 | 50.5 | ![]() | ||
33.4 | 53.8 | ![]() | |||
Cook | 34.8 | 56.0 | CR B10 west (West Bartlett Road) | ||
35.7 | 57.5 | ![]() | Interchange | ||
Streamwood | 36.5 | 58.7 | ![]() | ||
37.4 | 60.2 | CR A66 (Schaumburg Road) | |||
Hoffman Estates | 38.3 | 61.6 | CR A63 east (Bode Road) | ||
38.4 | 61.8 | ![]() | |||
39.5 | 63.6 | CR A62 (Shoe Factory Road) | |||
39.9 | 64.2 | ![]() ![]() | I-90 exit 59 | ||
Hoffman Estates–South Barrington village line | 40.4 | 65.0 | ![]() | ||
Sutton–South Barrington line | 41.9 | 67.4 | CR A57 (Penny Road) | ||
Barrington Hills | 43.0 | 69.2 | CR V47 east (Bartlett Road) | ||
43.3 | 69.7 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern end of IL 68 concurrency | ||
44.7 | 71.9 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of IL 68 concurrency | ||
Lake | Barrington | 47.5 | 76.4 | ![]() | |
North Barrington | 49.5 | 79.7 | ![]() | ||
Lake Barrington | 50.7 | 81.6 | ![]() | ||
Tower Lakes | 52.5 | 84.5 | ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of CR V49 | |
Wauconda | 54.1 | 87.1 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of US 12 concurrency; interchange | |
55.1 | 88.7 | ![]() | Interchange | ||
Volo | 59.7 | 96.1 | ![]() | ||
Fox Lake | 62.9 | 101.2 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Western terminus of IL 134; eastern terminus of CR A26 | |
63.4 | 102.0 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of US 12 concurrency; interchange | ||
Fox Lake Hills–Lake Villa village line | 67.6 | 108.8 | ![]() ![]() | Western terminus of IL 132 | |
Antioch | 71.13 | 114.47 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of IL 59 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
[edit]- ^ a b Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved November 8, 2007.
- ^ a b Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 41 through 60. Last updated March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2006.
- ^ Metra. Metra Home Page. Retrieved May 2, 2006.
- ^ "DIVERGING DIAMOND INTERCHANGE OPENS AT ROUTE 59, I-88 IN NAPERVILLE". Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Overview Map of IL 59" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "New I-55 interchange at Illinois 59 opens in south suburbs". ABC7 Chicago. October 7, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
- ^ Pyke, Marni (October 7, 2024). "IDOT opens another diverging diamond traffic tamer at I-55 interchange". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 2, 2025.