Illinois Route 50 (IL 50) is a north–south state road in northeastern

Illinois 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 Rock ...

. 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 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

in Skokie. In

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and the suburbs it's known as Cicero Avenue. Before this, Cicero Avenue was previously known as 48th Avenue, owing to its City of Chicago address of 4800 West.

Route description

IL 50 begins in Kankakee at an intersection with Southeast Avenue ( US 45/

US 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follo ...

) and heads north as Schuyler Avenue. The four-lane road crosses the

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in ...

and then turns east onto East River Street before turning north onto a

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descript ...

of Harrison Avenue northbound and Indiana Avenue southbound. While on this one-way pair, IL 50 crosses two railroads, then turns east onto Fair Street and crosses a third. After crossing the railroads, the roadway curves in a northerly direction and becomes Hobbie Avenue before it enters Bradley. In Bradley, the road is known as Kinzie Avenue, and it continues due north, meeting a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

(I-57), then leaving the city. North of the city, IL 50 begins to parallel a railroad. It bends to the northeast, crosses the southern branch of Rock Creek, and passes through Manteno. Northeast of Manteno, the highway leaves Kankakee County and crosses into Will County. Still paralleling the railroad and I-57, IL 50 passes through Peotone and heads toward Monee. In Monee, the route dips to the north and crosses the railroad, then crosses into University Park. Here the route is known as Governors Highway. It curves north before leaving the city and Will County, crossing into urban

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. Upon crossing into Cook County, IL 50 enters

Richton Park Richton Park is a village and a southern suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,775 at the 2020 census. The community was named after a Richton in Vermont, the native home of a first settler. Geograph ...

. From here northward the road is known as Cicero Avenue. It passes straight through Richton Park and into Matteson. In Matteson, IL 50 meets Lincoln Highway ( US 30). The route then continues due north through the remainder of Matteson, through the Southern Green Belt Forest Preserve, and into Country Club Hills. Continuing north through Country Club Hills, IL 50 crosses under

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

, then under I-57, without access to either highway. Just north of I-57, IL 50 curves slightly to the northwest, leaves Country Club Hills and enters

Oak Forest An oak forest is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak forests contain the most closed canopy, compared to oak savannas and oak woodlands. Examples * Southern dry-mesic oak f ...

. The route continues northward in Oak Forest, intersecting 159th Street ( US 6). North of the US 6 intersection, the highway crosses into

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

, where it intersects IL 83 south at 149th Street. IL 50 at Pink Line

IL 50 and IL 83 head north and enter Crestwood. In the northern part of this city, IL 83 splits off to the northwest at an intersection with Cal Sag Road, while IL 50 continues heading north and crosses the Little Calumet River into Alsip. Here, the highway shares an interchange with I-294 (Tri-State Tollway), then continues due north into Oak Lawn. In Oak Lawn, IL 50 meets US 12 and US 20 at 95th Street, then continues north and leaves the city. Around 79th street, It begins to parallel

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 ...

and

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) ...

to the west. It parallels Illinois 171 until its terminus at

Illinois Route 72 Illinois Route 72 is an east–west state road in northern Illinois. It runs from the intersection with Illinois Route 73 north of Lanark east to Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue) in Chicago. This is a distance of . Route description Il ...

and Illinois Route 43 for the duration of the route. Continuing north, the highway enters Chicago entirely and serves Chicago Midway International Airport, then meets

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

(Stevenson Expressway) at a diamond interchange. North of the interchange with I-55, IL 50 crosses the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, leaving Chicago and entering

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

. The route re-enters Chicago a short distance later, meeting

I-290 Interstate 290 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 290 (Illinois), a highway from Chicago, Illinois, to Rolling Meadows, Illinois * Interstate 290 (Massachusetts), a highway in Massachusetts that connects ...

(Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway) just north of the boundary. Heading north through the western portion of the city, the highway intersects IL 64 and IL 19 before crossing under

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, an ...

(Kennedy Expressway) without access. Continuing north, IL 50 meets I-94 (Edens Expressway) at an interchange in which IL 50 has no access to I-94, and only traffic travelling eastbound on I-94 can access IL 50 southbound. The route then crosses the north branch of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons fo ...

and intersects US 14 at Peterson Avenue. North of this intersection, the highway leaves Chicago and passes through Lincolnwood. It then continues north to its northern terminus at Lincoln Avenue ( US 41) in Skokie.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=inline, title
Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 50
050 Transportation in Kankakee County, Illinois Transportation in Will County, Illinois Transportation in Cook County, Illinois Kankakee, Illinois Oak Forest, Illinois Oak Lawn, Illinois Transportation in Chicago