ILLINOIS ROUTE 53

'Illinois Route 53' is an arterial north-south state highway in northeast Illinois. Route 53 runs south from Long Grove at Illinois Route 83 to Gardner at Interstate 55 west of old ''U.S. Highway 66'', a distance of about 80 miles. It mainly cuts through the western suburbs of Chicago, passes through Joliet, and straddles I-55 at its southern extent.

Contents

Route description

Exit list

History

Future

References

Route description

Illinois 53 is one of the state highways routed along expressways in the state. Before it becomes an expressway, Illinois 53 starts out in Long Grove going southwest towards Palatine. South of Lake-Cook Road, Illinois 53 follows Hicks Road, Rand Road (concurrent with U.S. 12) and Dundee Road (concurrent with Illinois 68) through Palatine's northeast side before it joins an expressway that starts one mile north at Lake-Cook Rd as a bypass of northeast Palatine. It forms the other half of the Interstate 290/IL 53 combination in Schaumburg before being routed west onto Biesterfield Road and back south onto Rohlwing Road. Until its first junction with I-55 by Bolingbrook, it remains a mostly 2 to 4 lane road, largely replaced by the I-290 and I-355 combo. In the suburb of Lombard, Illinois 53 is called Columbine Avenue.
South of the first junction with I-55, Illinois 53 follows old ''U.S. 66'' and parallels Interstate 55, entering downtown Joliet, which is about four miles east of I-55. Illinois 53 also passes directly in front of Stateville Correctional Center between Joliet and Romeoville. From Joliet it follows the original ''U.S. 66'' alignment to the south. It remains a four-lane divided highway for about 15 miles, passing through Elwood and the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, part of which is now occupied by the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. Route 53 narrows to two lanes just outside Wilmington and crosses the Kankakee River in downtown Wilmington. It then continues southwest through Braidwood and Braceville on its way to Gardner, where it loops around the southern part of town before ending at I-55.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Cook	Schaumburg		2.5px Interstate 290 (Eisenhower Expressway) East - West Suburbs Interstate 90 (Northwest Tollway) - Rockford, Chicago	Only accessible via local lanes of collector-distributor ramp. Illinois 53 overlaps eastbound I-290 for 4 miles (6 km); see exit list for I-290.
	Rolling Meadows		Illinois Route 62 - Algonquin Road	Only accessible via local lanes of collector-distributor ramp.
			Kirchoff Road	Southbound entrance, northbound exit.
			Euclid Avenue	Full cloverleaf interchange.
	Palatine		U.S. Route 14 — Northwest Highway	Half cloverleaf interchange.
			Palatine Road	Full cloverleaf interchange.
	Buffalo Grove		U.S. Route 12 — Rand Road	Southbound entrance, northbound exit.
			Illinois Routes 53/68 — Dundee Road	Freeway continues north to Lake-Cook road.
			Lake-Cook Road	Northern terminus of freeway.

History

SBI Route 53 ran from Romeoville to Long Grove on Rohlwing Road and Hicks Road from 1924 to 1963. From 1963 through 1970, it was routed onto a new freeway from Addison to Arlington Heights and cosigned with Interstate 90 until that was changed to Interstate 290.
In 1967 Illinois 53 was extended to Gardner, and in 1995 Illinois Route 129 was routed onto Illinois 53 south of Braidwood. This lasted a year until Illinois 129 was dropped entirely south of Braidwood.
In 1990, with the construction of Interstate 355, Illinois 53 was moved off of the Interstate 290/355 combination south of Biesterfield Road and back onto its original alignment.

Future

Illinois 53 has been at the center of a major dispute regarding its northern extension (also known as 'FAP 342') into Lake County. The studied corridor currently runs from its current terminus at Lake-Cook Road north to a planned bypass for Illinois Route 120 near Grayslake. This bypass would carry through traffic to the Tri-State Tollway around Grayslake. The freeway would then turn west towards U.S. Route 12 and an existing freeway in south central Wisconsin. Should the freeway ever be constructed, it is likely that it would be Interstate standard, and would result in a new Interstate designation, most likely Interstate 594.
The freeway has been opposed by several organizations, notably the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club and vocal residents of Long Grove, which lies directly in the path of the Illinois 53 freeway extension. The Sierra Club opposes the roadway extension due to the presence of some ecologically sensitive marshes, the lack of alternative forms of mass transportation, and evidence that construction of the proposed highway will merely spur more development and congestion in the future. This phenomenon is known as suburban sprawl.^[1]
Proponents of the freeway argue that congestion in Lake County has already reached economically damaging levels, and that a freeway would save millions in fuel costs that would otherwise be lost in congestion. In addition, a freeway would substantially supplement an existing disorganized cluster of roads in the county; unlike neighboring counties, Lake and McHenry County lack arterial-capacity east-west and north-south state highways. In addition, proponents note that future projections call for housing and commerce development to reach the McHenry and Lake County areas regardless of the presence of a freeway. Finally, proponents note that the majority of the affected population supports building the Illinois 53 extension.^[2]
In 1999, the Illinois Department of Transportation talked of widening Illinois 53 south of U.S. Route 20 (Lake Street) and generally north of Interstate 88 to a five-lane section. Opposition from a citizen group called NIFTI (Neighbors Influencing Fifty-Three improvement) began to lobby for a more sustainable and sensible expansion plan of three-lanes. The road that ran through predominantly residential areas with nature preserves. The term Context Sensitive Design and Solutions was introduced to the state of Illinois through the efforts of this group.

References

1. Illinois Sierra Club. Guide to Route 53 extension (FAP 342). Retrieved April 11, 2006.
2. Build 53 Now! Home Page. Retrieved April 11, 2006.