Illinois Route 7 (IL 7, Illinois 7) is a northeast–southwest 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 Rockf ...
. Currently, IL 7 runs from
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
(US 6) at
Rockdale north through Joliet, and Crest Hill into
Lockport, and then east to
Orland Park
Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703.
Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Chicago ...
before terminating at
IL 43 in
Worth. IL 7 runs for about .
Route description
IL 7 follows large portions of the Southwest Highway, one of the original routes from Chicago to
Joliet.
IL 7 runs along many major streets and overlaps several other routes. It joins with
IL 53 in Crest Hill,
US 30 (Plainfield Road) in Crest Hill and with US 6 at
159th Street between Lockport and Orland Park. Between Rockdale and Worth, IL 7 runs via old
US 66, 159th Street, 143rd Street, Wolf Road, Southwest Highway, and Larkin Avenue, among many others.
History
SBI Route 7 originally ran from
East Moline to Chicago, mostly on current US 6 and IL 7. When US 6 was designated, IL 7 was dropped west of what is now Orland Park. In 1967, it was dropped in the city limits of Chicago (terminating in
Oak Lawn, and also extended to
IL 53 in
Lockport. Two years later, it was extended to Rockdale. In 1970, the eastern end was cut back to its current terminus.
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Major intersections
References
External links
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Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 7
007
7
Transportation in Will County, Illinois
Transportation in Cook County, Illinois