The
Dan Ryan is an expressway in the city of
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
that runs from the
Circle InterchangeThe Circle Interchange is an expressway interchange near downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the junction between the Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways...
with I-290 near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both
Interstate 94Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
and
Interstate 90Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
south to 66th Street, a distance of 7.44 miles (11.97 km). It then becomes just Interstate 94 at the split with the
Chicago SkywayThe Chicago Skyway, also known as Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System, is a toll road in Chicago, Illinois, United States, carrying Interstate 90 from the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago's South Side leading into the Chicago Loop....
(which becomes just Interstate 90), with a remaining distance of 4.03 miles (6.49 km). This is a total distance of 11.47 miles (18.5 km).
Route description
On an average day, up to 307,100 vehicles use a portion of the Dan Ryan (2005 data). The Dan Ryan, and its North Side counterpart the
Kennedy ExpresswayThe John F. Kennedy Expressway is a long highway that travels northwest from the Chicago Loop to O'Hare International Airport. The expressway is named for the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. The Interstate 90 portion of the Kennedy is a part of the much longer I-90...
, are the busiest roads in the entire state of
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Utilizing an
express-local systemA Local-express lane system is an arrangement of roadways within a major highway providing one of more roadways for express lanes with a limited number of entrances and exits and also separate roadways for local or collector lanes which provide access to all interchanges...
, the Dan Ryan has fourteen lanes of traffic; seven in each direction, with four of those as express lanes and the other three providing access for exit and on-ramps. Despite its width, the Dan Ryan is prone to traffic jams.
The posted directions on the Dan Ryan are different from the actual compass direction of the expressway, which may cause confusion to many travelers. The Dan Ryan for its entire 12 miles (19.3 km) length runs north–south. However, the Dan Ryan is a part of the larger Interstates 90 and 94, which both run east–west through the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Therefore, one who is traveling "west" on I-90/94 is actually driving north on the Dan Ryan as it passes through Chicago; the interstates continue on a westernly path outside of the city. Similarly, "east" on 90 and 94 on the entire system is really south through Chicago; the interstates will continue on an easternly path outside of the city. Chicagoans also typically refer to the direction of travel as either "inbound" or "outbound" from the downtown area.
Four miles of continuous high-rise housing projects (
Stateway GardensStateway Gardens was a Chicago Housing Authority public housing project in the Bronzeville neighborhood of the South Side of Chicago, alongside the Dan Ryan Expressway, adjacent to the former Robert Taylor Homes. Stateway Gardens was home to people living in mid- and high-rise apartment buildings...
and the
Robert Taylor HomesRobert Taylor Homes was a housing project in the Bronzeville neighborhood of the South Side of Chicago, on State Street between Pershing Road and 54th Street alongside the Dan Ryan Expressway.-History:...
) formerly ran parallel to the expressway on its eastern side from Cermak Road south to Garfield Boulevard. However, nearly all of these buildings have been demolished as part of the
CHAThe Chicago Housing Authority is a municipal corporation established by the State of Illinois in 1937 with jurisdiction for the administrative oversight of public housing within the City of Chicago...
's transformation plan.
The
Red LineThe northern terminus of the Red Line is Howard Street in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago , on the City Limits farthest north. The Red Line extends southeasterly on an elevated embankment structure about a half-mile west of the lakefront to Touhy Avenue then turns south along Glenwood...
of the
Chicago Transit Authority'sChicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
'L'The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
runs in the median of the Dan Ryan. That section opened on September 28, 1969. Chicago pioneered the use of
rapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
trains through expressway medians which has been adopted by many other cities.
The
control citiesA control city is a city or locality posted on a traffic sign indicating forward destinations on a certain route. These destinations aid motorists using the highway system to reach destinations along the various routes...
for the Dan Ryan Expressway are Indiana and Chicago Loop.
History
The Dan Ryan was opened in 1962 and named for
Dan Ryan, Jr.Daniel B. Ryan, Jr was a Chicago insurance broker and served as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 1954 to his death. Ryan was a Democrat affiliated with the "Chicago Machine" or Cook County Democratic Organization The Dan Ryan Expressway was named in his memory.Ryan...
, the President of the
Cook CountyCook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
Board of Commissioners. During the planning stages it was also known as the
South Route Expressway.
Reconstruction history
In 1988-1989, the northern three miles (5 km) of the Dan Ryan, known as the
Elevated Bridge, were completely reconstructed.
In 2006 and 2007, the
Illinois Department of TransportationThe Illinois Department of Transportation 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 fuel tax and federal funding to local juridictions in the...
reconstructed the entire length of the Dan Ryan Expressway, including the addition of a travel lane from 47th Street to 95th Street. The project was the most massive expressway reconstruction plan in Chicago history. The total cost of the project was US$975 million, nearly twice the US$550 million original estimate for the project.
Exit list
The entire route is in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
,
Cook CountyCook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
.
{|class=wikitable
!Mile
!
#An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|
|
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|Continuation beyond I-290
|-
|51.8
|51H
|
|No exit number westbound
|-
|51.8
|51I
|Congress Parkway –
Chicago LoopThe Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
|Signed as 51H eastbound
|-
|52.1
|52A
|Taylor Street (1000 South),
Roosevelt RoadRoosevelt Road is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only one mile south of Madison Street...
(1200 South)
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|52.3
|52B
|
Roosevelt RoadRoosevelt Road is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only one mile south of Madison Street...
(1200 South), Taylor Street (1000 South)
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|52.9
|52C
|18th Street
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|53.0
|53A
|Canalport Avenue,
Cermak RoadCermak Road, formerly 22nd Street, is a major east-west artery on Chicago's south side and western suburbs. It is named for assassinated Chicago mayor Anton Cermak.-Points of interest:...
(2200 South)
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|53.3
|53
|
|Signed as exits 53B (south) and 53C (north) westbound
|-
|colspan=4 align=center|West end of express lanes
|-
|53.8
|53C
|
Cermak RoadCermak Road, formerly 22nd Street, is a major east-west artery on Chicago's south side and western suburbs. It is named for assassinated Chicago mayor Anton Cermak.-Points of interest:...
(2200 South)
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|54.7
|54
|31st Street
|
|-
|55.2
|55A
|35th Street
|
U.S. Cellular FieldU.S. Cellular Field is a baseball ballpark in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, it is the home of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball's American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at old Comiskey Park...
,
Illinois Institute of TechnologyIllinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
|-
|55.7
|55B
|Pershing Road (3900 South)
|
|-
|56.2
|56A
|43rd Street
|
|-
|56.7
|56B
|47th Street
|
|-
|57.7
|57
|Garfield Boulevard (5500 South)
|
|-
|58.2
|58A
|59th Street
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|58.7
|58B
|63rd Street
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|59.0
|59A
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|colspan=4 align=center|East end of I-90 overlap
|-
|59.3
|59B
|Marquette Road, 67th Street (6700 South)
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|colspan=4 align=center|East end of express lanes
|-
|59.8
|59C
|71st Street
|
|-
|60.3
|60A
|75th Street
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|60.4
|60B
|76th Street
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|60.8
|60C
|79th Street
|
|-
|61.3
|61A
|83rd Street
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|61.8
|61B
|87th Street
|
|-
|62.8
|62
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|63.17
|63
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|
|
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
External links