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Interstate 57

Total length: 380 miles (611 km)
Southern terminus: Sikeston, MO, at JCT I-55
Northern terminus: Chicago, IL, at JCT I-94

States traversed & length in each:

• Missouri — 22 miles (35 km)
• Illinois — 358 miles (576 km)

Major cities along route:

• Champaign, IL
• Kankakee, IL
• Chicago, IL

Junctions with non-related Interstates:

• Interstate 55: Southern terminus in Sikeston, MO
• Interstate 24: Exit 44 in Goreville, IL
• Interstate 64: Multiplex from Exit 92 to Exit 96 in Mount Vernon, IL
• Interstate 70: Multiplex from Exit 157 to Exit 163 in Effingham, IL
• Interstate 72: Exit 235 in Champaign, IL
• Western Interstate 74: Exit 237 in Champaign, IL
• Interstate 80: Exit 345 in Country Club Hills, IL
• Interstate 94: Northern terminus in Chicago, IL

Related loops and spurs:

NONE

Length I’ve traveled: Entire length

Time zones:
Central — Entire length

Counties traversed:
Missouri — Scott, Mississippi

Illinois — Alexander, Pulaski, Union, Johnson, Williamson, Franklin, Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Clay, Effingham, Shelby, Cumberland, Coles, Douglas, Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Will, Cook

A quick hypertext drive: Interstate 57 serves as a bypass of St. Louis, MO, for Memphis-to-Chicago traffic. Drivers can cut roughly 60 miles off the trip between these two cities by using Interstate 57.

I-57 begins at an interchange connecting itself, I-55, and U.S. Route 60 southeast of Sikeston, MO. There are only three exits along the short and very flat stretch in southeastern Missouri before I-57 crosses the Mississippi River to Cairo, IL (pronounced KAY-roe), a small town best known for sitting at the point where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet. As it leaves the river valleys, I-57 becomes progressively more and more hilly as it approaches the Shawnee National Forest and eventually the Interstate 24 interchange.

Very shortly thereafter, I-57 flattens out again and passes through an area dominated by forests and lakes; a rest area at milepost 78 on the southbound side sits almost literally on the shores of scenic Rend Lake, providing opportunities for sporting and recreation. North of Rend Lake, I-57 carries on a short multiplex with I-64 and then passes into a largely agricultural landscape.

Not much about the surroundings of I-57 changes as the highway passes Effingham (with a short I-70 multiplex), Mattoon, Champaign/Urbana, and even Kankakee, although it does pass closer to the built-up areas of Kankakee than any of the others. Finally, near Monee, I-57 begins to very slowly become more suburban in character, and not far south of I-80, it widens to six lanes for the first time. Although it crosses Interstate 294 (Tri-State Tollway), I-57 lacks a direct interchange with I-294; drivers wishing to connect between the two must use Interstate 80 to make that connection. Finally, on the south side of Chicago, I-57 terminates into I-94 (Dan Ryan Expwy or Bishop Ford Fwy).

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