Lake Street is an east–west street in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and part of its suburbs. A portion of Lake Street is designated as

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

. Lake Street begins in

downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distri ...

and travels west to the eastern terminus of the

Elgin Bypass U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in the U.S. state of Illinois is a major arterial highway that runs from the Iowa state line at East Dubuque at the northwestern tip of Illinois, to the Indiana state line at Chicago south of the Chicago Skyway, a distanc ...

around suburban Elgin. The street travels west through the city and then begins to travel in a northwest fashion through several suburbs. The street is a distance of roughly .

Route description

Lake street begins at the end on the Elgin Bypass and intersection of Shales Pkwy and Bluff City Blvd. US 20 comes from the Elgin bypass onto Lake St. It then crosses the Canadian National Railway and has a traffic light with a suburban road. It then gradually climbs a hill and has another traffic light with car dealerships on the left side when facing east. It then passes by some residential areas and has an interchange with

Illinois Route 59 Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...

(IL 59). After passing thorugh more residential areas and some warehouses, it crosses under the

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...

Milwaukee District West Line The Milwaukee District West Line (MD-W) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to any of its lines by a particular color, but the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District West line a ...

( Canadian Pacific Railway) and meets the current western end of

Illinois Route 390 Illinois Route 390 (IL 390), previously known as the Elgin–O'Hare Expressway, now known as the Elgin–O'Hare Tollway, is a electronic toll highway in northeastern Illinois. IL 390 currently connects U.S. Route 20 (US&nb ...

(IL 390). After passing though more residential areas and shops, it enters Bloomingdale. Passing by shops ad gas stations, along with going through a forest, and passing by warehouses, it meets

I-355 Interstate 355 (I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an Interstate Highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of th ...

Continuing east, Lake Street passes by shopping centers along with more residential areas while paralleling the

Eisenhower expressway Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs westward from the Chicago Loop. The portion of I-290 from I-294 to its east end is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway. In short form, it is known as "t ...

. Lake street has a lot of traffic lights while in Addison. and crosses over the Salt Creek and

Illinois Route 83 Illinois Route 83 (IL 83) is a major north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. It stretches from U.S. Route 30 (US 30, Lincoln Highway) by Lynwood and Dyer, Indiana, north to the Wisconsin border by Antioch at Wisconsin High ...

(IL 83). Since a portion of Lake Street in Elmhurst has been replaced by the

Eisenhower Expressway Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs westward from the Chicago Loop. The portion of I-290 from I-294 to its east end is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway. In short form, it is known as "t ...

, US 20 runs on the Eisenhower for 0.97 mi (1.56 km), Lake St. continues on across from the interstate and US 20 continues on with I-290 and finds an exit to Lake st. It ends again before being continued on another ramp leading to its continuation in Stone Park. In Stone Park, Lake Street runs concurrent with US 20 and passes by more shopping centers. At Mannheim Road, Eastbound U.S. 20 turns south with U.S. Routes 12 and 45. It continues east of Mannheim Road after US 20 leaves. It then crosses over the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

and it passes by more residential areas and has an intersection with

Illinois Route 171 Illinois Route 171 (IL 171) is a north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Joliet north to Illinois Route 72 at the Chicago– Park Ridge border. The section of IL 171 on Archer Av ...

(IL 171). It turns east and parallels the Union Pacific Railroad, and passes through Maywood and River Forest before it intersects

Illinois Route 43 Illinois Route 43 (IL 43) is a major north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Frankfort north to the large intersection of IL 120 (Belvidere Road) and US 41 (Skokie Highway) in ...

in Oak Park, (IL 43) and

Illinois Route 50 Illinois Route 50 (IL 50) is a north–south state road in northeastern Illinois. It runs from the junction with U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in West Kankakee north to US 41 in Skokie. In Chicago and the sub ...

(IL 50). In

South Austin South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, it ends crosses under the Union Pacific and continues southeast with the CTA Green Line tracks in the middle. It passes through Garfield Park and continues east toward downtown Chicago. It crosses railroad tracks and the CTA tracks then elevate as they are part of the Chicago "L" system. It intersects major streets in Chicago and has a partial interchange with 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 ...

and Interstates 90 and 94. It then continues east and ends at Stetson Avenue.

History

Most of Lake Street was once marked as U.S. 20. In 1938, U.S. 20 was moved onto Mannheim Road and La Grange Road. The remaining segment of Lake Street became City U.S. 20. In 1960, it was renamed to Business U.S. 20. In 1968, all designations were dropped from Lake Street east of Mannheim Road.

Major intersections

References

{{Streets in Chicago Streets in Chicago U.S. Route 20 Transportation in Cook County, Illinois Transportation in DuPage County, Illinois