Click here to go to the Eastern Interstate 88.
Western Interstate 88
Total length: 140 miles (226 km)
Western terminus: East Moline, IL, at JCT I-80
Eastern terminus: Hillside, IL, at JCT I-290
States traversed & length in each:
- Illinois — 140 miles (226 km)
Major cities along route:
- Aurora, IL
- Naperville, IL
Junctions with non-related Interstates:
- Interstate 80: Western terminus in East Moline, IL
- Interstate 39: Unnumbered exit in Rochelle, IL
(Note: Illinois Tollways lack exit numbering.)
- Interstate 355: Two unnumbered exits in Downers Grove, IL
- Interstate 294: Unnumbered exit in Hillside, IL
- Interstate 290: Eastern terminus in Hillside, IL
Related loops and spurs:
Length I’ve traveled: Entire length
Time zones:
Central — Entire length
Counties traversed:
Illinois — Rock Island, Whiteside, Lee, Ogle, De Kalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook
A quick hypertext drive: The western Interstate 88 is an intra-state route, entirely in Illinois, that in many ways does nothing more than duplicate Interstate 80 across that state. It does serve communities not served by I-80, such as Rochelle, De Kalb, and some western suburbs of Chicago, but the eastern 96 miles of this I-88 carry a toll that really makes I-55 to I-80 a better choice for long-distance travel from Chicago to points west.
In fact, the primary reason that I-88 carries Interstate route shields today has nothing to do with importance as a transportation corridor. When the National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL) was amended in 1987 to permit 65-mph (105 km/h) speeds on rural Interstates only, what is now the western I-88 was a combination of freeway and toll freeway known as Illinois Route 5. Since NMSL only allowed 65 mph speeds on Interstates, IL 5 could only carry a 55-mph (88 km/h) limit, even though it was a full freeway up to current Interstate standards. The solution to this, which took effect in 1990, was to petition the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to re-designate IL 5 as an Interstate; the I-88 numbering, which matched an Interstate number already used in New York state, was assigned for this purpose. NMSL was repealed completely in 1995, eliminating the original rationale for making I-88 an Interstate, yet the Interstate designation remains.
The western 44 miles of the western I-88, from its terminus at I-80 to the Whiteside/Lee county line just east of Rock Falls, are a freeway built in the mid-1970s by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). This was done at around the same time that the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) completed a long extension of the East-West Tollway from the Chicago suburb of Aurora out to Rock Falls. Previous to that, IL 5 only ran from the Aurora area to the so-called “Hillside Strangler” interchange with I-290 and I-294.
The vast majority of the route of I-88, on both the free and tolled portions, is fairly flat with a few rolling hills here and there. Although the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (a name I-88 was given in 2004 upon the death of the former president, a Dixon native) actually begins at Rock Falls, one does not encounter toll plazas until the town of Dixon, about 15 miles east. The route is surrounded mostly by farm fields in the rural stretches, and it passes through suburban office parks and commercial areas from Aurora on east. It is four lanes west of the Aurora toll plaza, and generally six lanes east of there, with a short eight-lane stretch in Naperville. The interchange with Interstate 355, the North-South Tollway, stretches out over more than a mile as I-88 and I-355 actually run next to each other for a short stretch. Eventually, the western I-88 terminates upon reaching I-290, the Eisenhower Expressway; this is one of the few places where a two-digit Interstate route terminates at a three-digit (loop or spur) Interstate.
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Click here to go to the Western Interstate 88.
Eastern Interstate 88
Total length: 117 miles (188 km)
Western terminus: Binghamton, NY, at JCT I-81
Eastern terminus: Schenectady, NY, at JCT I-90
States traversed & length in each:
- New York — 117 miles (188 km)
Major cities along route:
- Binghamton, NY
- Schenectady, NY
Junctions with non-related Interstates:
Related loops and spurs:
Length I’ve traveled: Entire length
Time zones:
Eastern — Entire length
Counties traversed:
New York — Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Schenectady
A quick hypertext drive: The eastern Interstate 88 is the older of the two I-88s, serving to connect the Southern Tier of New York state (at Binghamton) with the Capital Region of Albany and Schenectady. It can be used as the easternmost part of a long, bi-state bypass of the tolled New York State Thruway; the western part utilizes New York Route 17 and the eastern Interstate 86. In fact, for vehicles utilizing this route to reach Albany, the Thruway does not charge a toll for vehicles entering at Exit 25A (I-88) and exiting at Exit 24 (I-87/I-90), or vice versa, giving travelers a totally free route to the state capital.
The interchange at the western end of I-88 is a little bit strange in that there is one missing connection between I-81 and I-88, namely from southbound I-81 to access I-88. Interestingly enough, a freeway does continue south from the end of I-88 as New York Route 7, and NY 7 has full freeway connections to I-81, so it seems a bit strange that I-88 terminates where it does at its western end rather than continuing to the present-day NY 7/I-81 interchange. Additionally, at the eastern end, I-88 was originally planned to continue through Schenectady and eventually go as far as Interstate 787 in Troy, if not further, but the plans to build through Schenectady never got off the ground; this explains the rationale behind the free passage on the Thruway.
The first few miles of I-88 hug the bank of the Chenango River, and are flat but winding. As I-88 breaks away from the river, it enters into very hilly — almost mountainous — terrain that characterizes much of the highway’s path. The route winds around quite a bit west of Oneonta, as it roughly follows the path of the east branch of the Susquehanna River; east of there, it straightens out somewhat. There are no terribly steep hills anywhere on I-88, but there are a few long ones that slow heavy-truck traffic somewhat; in fact, there is a climbing lane on the westbound side that carries on for 20 miles as one leaves Schenectady. Despite the surrounding terrain, I-88 is still a reasonably easy and high-speed drive through a very rural, uncongested part of upstate New York.
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