Interstate 190 (I-190) is an

auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which con ...

in the US state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. I-190 runs west from

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

, for a distance of . I-190 is the westernmost leg of the

Kennedy Expressway The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the W ...

Route description

I-190 has two lanes in either direction between I-90 and

I-294 Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/ I-94 and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to ...

and three lanes west of I-294. The freeway portion of I-190 consists largely of

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

s. The

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

's Blue Line operates in the median of I-190 for the highway's entire length. Each road crossing I-190 is accessible via exit ramps. Not all interchanges are accessible in the same way from both directions, however. For example, the exit to southbound US Route 12 (US 12)/ US 45 traveling eastbound on I-190 requires exiting at Bessie Coleman Drive. Westbound, direct access is provided. There is no specific sign indicating I-190's western terminus at O'Hare. Interstate-standard freeway ends roughly at the ramps to the upper (departure) and lower (arrival) loops. The freeway then resumes shortly after both loops merge to cross an emergency fire lane. The eastern terminus, I-90, is considered to be the origin point of the highway. Both exit numbers and mileage markers on roadside light fixtures ascend traveling westbound.

History

The highway that is now I-190 was signed as part of

Illinois Route 194 Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 '' Ab urbe ...

(IL 194) from 1960 to 1970. In 1971, it was changed to Illinois Route 594 (IL 594). Then, it was changed to I-190 around 1978 after the rest of IL 194 was changed to I-90 in the mid- to late 1970s.Carlson, Rich
Illinois Highways Page: Routes 181 thru 200
Last updated April 15, 2005. Retrieved June 27, 2006. In late 2005, the intersection with Mannheim Road was reconstructed to remove unsafe conditions and bring the route closer to

Interstate standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...

. In the late 1990s, the

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) 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 ...

(IDOT) restriped I-190 at I-294. This action increased the number of lanes west of I-294 from two to three. In the process, the speed limit was reduced from , and yield signs were erected at the ends of the ramp from northbound Mannheim Road to westbound I-190, the busiest ramp at that intersection. This created a hazardous condition, often leading to high-speed crashes should drivers waiting on the ramp become impatient or underestimate the speed of westbound traffic. Often, an IDOT Minuteman (rapid response vehicle) would be stationed on the ramp waiting to tow away vehicles that were involved in crashes during rush hour.

Exit list

Although exit numbers on I-190 increase from east to west, this table presents interchanges from west to east to follow IDOT milepost measurements starting at O'Hare.

References

External links

Kurumi's Highway Page: Interstate 190
{{3di, 90 90-1 90-1 Illinois 1 (Illinois) Expressways in the Chicago area Interstate 190