# U.S. Route 41 in Illinois

U.S. Route 41 (US 41) in the U.S. state of Illinois runs north from the Indiana border beneath the Chicago Skyway on Indianapolis Boulevard to the Wisconsin border north of the northern terminus of the Tri-State Tollway with Interstate 94. It is the only north–south U.S. Route to travel through a significant portion of the city of Chicago, carrying Lake Shore Drive through the central portion of the city along the lakefront. US 41 in Illinois is 64.81 miles (104.30 km) in length.

## Route description

US 41 enters Illinois running concurrently with US 12 and US 20 on the far southeast side of Chicago. They run together until the junction of 95th Street and Ewing Avenue. US 41, then continues down Ewing Avenue for one-half mile (800 m) before heading northwest–southeast along the extension of Lake Shore Drive. Lake Shore Drive continues until US 41 meets South Shore Drive and 79th Street. This is the western terminus of the Lake Shore Drive extension and US 41 continues through the South Shore neighborhood's section of South Shore Drive before reaching the southern terminus of Lake Shore Drive.
The Lake Shore Drive section of US 41 is a six- to eight-lane highway along the shores of Lake Michigan through Chicago's lakefront park system. It is a limited-access highway except for five signalized intersections near downtown Chicago.
Just short of the northern terminus of Lake Shore Drive, US 41 exits at Foster Avenue. It follows Foster Avenue west for over two miles (3.2 km) and then heads northwest on Lincoln Avenue into neighboring Lincolnwood. Between Lake Shore Drive and Lincolnwood, US 41 intersects US 14 twice; once at its terminus at Foster Avenue and Broadway, and once again at the intersection of Peterson Avenue and Lincoln Avenue.
US 41 is named Skokie Boulevard through Skokie, then its name changes to Skokie Valley Road north of Skokie. Traveling north, it joins I-94 (Edens Expressway) westbound just north of the Old Orchard Shopping Center; they split a few miles north when US 41 becomes the Skokie Highway. The highway serves as a major north–south arterial expressway for much of its routing through Chicago's northern suburbs, as well as an oft-used alternate for truckers avoiding the cost of tolls on the Tri-State Tollway. Before reaching the Wisconsin border, US 41 rejoins I-94 at the northern terminus of the Tri-State Tollway; these two roads continue, toll-free, north one mile (1.6 km) to the Wisconsin border.

## History

Initially, US 41 followed what used to be Illinois Route 42. In 1931, it was rerouted away from Zion and Winthrop Harbor while IL 42 north of Chicago remained untouched. In 1935, an entire section of US 41 between Chicago and Waukegan was realigned to a new alignment. The new alignment closely matched the current routing of US 41. By 1939, Skokie Highway (part of US 41) was fully completed. With the completion of the Edens Expressway in 1951, US 41 was moved onto the expressway north of Touhy Avenue. Eventually, in 1959, Interstate 94 appeared on the Edens Expressway as well as the Edens Spur and part of the Tri-State Tollway. In 1966, US 41 was rerouted back onto Skokie Boulevard. In 1987, the S-curve was straightened out. By 1997, the northbound lanes were moved west to the southbound lanes; eliminating the split at Museum Campus. Around that same year, the overpass north of I-55 became fully pedestrianized in favor of expanding McCormick Place.
A $64 million Lake Shore Drive extension project, spanning from 79th Street to 92nd Street/Ewing Avenue/Harbor Avenue junctions, began in April 2012. Unlike the northern portion of LSD, the extension would function more like an arterial road instead of a limited-access road. Previously, a portion of U.S. Route 41 used to travel north through Mackinaw Avenue, west through 87th Street, north through Burley Avenue, west through 85th Street, northwest through Baker Avenue, and north through South Shore Drive until it reached 79th Street. The extension eventually opened on October 27, 2013. As a result, US 41 moved eastward onto the new road.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Cook | Chicago | 0.00 | 0.00 | | US 12 east / US 20 east / US 41 south / LMCT (Indianapolis Boulevard) – Hammond | Continuation into Indiana |
| Cook | Chicago | 0.01 | 0.016 | | I-90 Toll west / Chicago Skyway west | Access to I-90 east is in Indiana; I-90 exit 107 |
| Cook | Chicago | 1.71 | 2.75 | | US 12 west / US 20 west (95th Street) | Northern end of US 12/US 20 overlap |
| Cook | Chicago | 6.41 | 10.32 | | Jeffery Drive, Marquette Drive | Southern end of DuSable Lake Shore Drive |
| Cook | Chicago | 7.7 | 12.4 | | 57th Drive to I-90 Toll east / Chicago Skyway east | Southern end of freeway |
| Cook | Chicago | 8.2 | 13.2 | — | 53rd Street | Southbound exit only |
| Cook | Chicago | 8.6 | 13.8 | — | Hyde Park Boulevard (5100 South) | Southbound exit only |
| Cook | Chicago | 9.1 | 14.6 | — | 47th Street | |
| Cook | Chicago | 10.3 | 16.6 | — | Oakwood Boulevard (3940 South) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 11.3 | 18.2 | — | 31st Street | |
| Cook | Chicago | 12.0 | 19.3 | — | I-55 south (Stevenson Expressway) to I-90 / I-94 – St. Louis | Northern terminus of I-55 |
| Cook | Chicago | 12.7 | 20.4 | — | 18th Drive – Museum Campus | Northern end of freeway |
| Cook | Chicago | 12.9 | 20.8 | | Waldron Drive (1600 South) | At-grade intersection; northbound exit and entrance |
| Cook | Chicago | 13.2 | 21.2 | | Columbus Drive (300 East) to I-290 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Cook | Chicago | 13.2 | 21.2 | | McFetridge Drive (1326 South) | Northbound exit and entrance |
| Cook | Chicago | 13.4 | 21.6 | | Roosevelt Road (1200 South) to I-90 / I-94 | |
| Cook | Chicago | 13.8 | 22.2 | | Balbo Drive (700 South) to I-90 / I-94 / I-290 | |
| Cook | Chicago | 14.2 | 22.9 | | Jackson Drive (300 South) to I-90 / I-94 / I-290 | |
| Cook | Chicago | 14.6 | 23.5 | — | Randolph Street (150 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 14.7 | 23.7 | — | Wacker Drive (300 North) to I-290 | Northbound exit is via Randolph Street; southbound exit is via Grand Avenue |
| Cook | Chicago | 15.2 | 24.5 | — | Illinois Street (500 North), Grand Avenue (530 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 15.3 | 24.6 | — | Ontario Street (620 North) | Southbound exit only |
| Cook | Chicago | 15.6 | 25.1 | | Chicago Avenue (800 North) | At-grade intersection; no southbound exit |
| Cook | Chicago | 15.7 | 25.3 | — | Chestnut Street (860 North) | Southbound exit only |
| Cook | Chicago | 16.2 | 26.1 | — | Michigan Avenue/Oak Street (1000 North) | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Cook | Chicago | 16.9 | 27.2 | — | IL 64 west (LaSalle Drive, North Avenue (1600 North)) | Eastern terminus of IL 64 |
| Cook | Chicago | 17.8 | 28.6 | — | Fullerton Parkway (2400 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 19.0 | 30.6 | — | Belmont Avenue (3200 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 19.5 | 31.4 | — | Recreation Drive (3400 North) | Northbound exit only |
| Cook | Chicago | 20.0 | 32.2 | — | IL 19 west (Irving Park Road (4000 North)) | Eastern terminus of IL 19 |
| Cook | Chicago | 20.5 | 33.0 | — | Montrose Avenue (4400 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 20.8 | 33.5 | — | Wilson Avenue (4600 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 21.0 | 33.8 | — | Lawrence Avenue (4800 North) | |
| Cook | Chicago | 21.51 | 34.62 | — | DuSable Lake Shore Drive north | Interchange; northern end of Lake Shore Drive overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Cook | Chicago | 22.01 | 35.42 | | US 14 west (Broadway Street) | Eastern terminus of US 14 |
| Cook | Chicago | 25.01 | 40.25 | | US 14 (Peterson Avenue) | |
| Cook | Lincolnwood | 27.3 | 43.9 | | Touhy Avenue to I-94 | |
| Cook | Skokie | 27.9 | 44.9 | | IL 50 south (Cicero Avenue / Skokie Boulevard) | Northern terminus of IL 50 |
| Cook | Skokie | 29.5 | 47.5 | | IL 58 west (Dempster Street) | Eastern terminus of IL 58 |
| Cook | Wilmette | 32.9 | 52.9 | | I-94 east (Edens Expressway) | Southern end of I-94 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-94 exit 34A; exit numbers follow I-94 |
| Cook | Northfield | 34.0 | 54.7 | 33 | Willow Road | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 33A (west) and 33B (east) |
| Cook | Northfield | 35.1 | 56.5 | 31 | Tower Road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Cook | Northbrook | 36.7 | 59.1 | 30 | IL 68 west (Dundee Road) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 30A (west) and 30B (east); eastern terminus of IL 68 |
| Cook | Northbrook | 37.3 | 60.0 | | I-94 Toll west (Edens Spur) – Milwaukee | Northern end of I-94 overlap; interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-94 exit 29 |
| Cook–Lake county line | Northbrook–Highland Park city line | 37.8 | 60.8 | — | Lake Cook Road | |
| Lake | Highland Park | 38.4 | 61.8 | — | Clavey Road, Skokie Valley Road | |
| Lake | Highland Park | 38.8 | 62.4 | | Chantilly Road | Northbound exit and entrance |
| Lake | Highland Park | 40.0 | 64.4 | — | Central Avenue, Deerfield Road | |
| Lake | Highland Park | | | Northern end of freeway | Northern end of freeway | Northern end of freeway |
| Lake | Highland Park | 41.5 | 66.8 | | IL 22 west (Half Day Road) | Separate jughandle ramps for traffic exiting onto IL 22; eastern terminus of IL 22 |
| Lake | Lake Forest | 44.7 | 71.9 | | IL 60 west (Kennedy Road) | Eastern terminus of IL 60 |
| Lake | Lake Forest | 45.2 | 72.7 | — | Deerpath Road | |
| Lake | Lake Bluff | 47.5 | 76.4 | | IL 176 (Rockland Road) | Southbound traffic exits via Washington Avenue/Shagbark Road; northbound traffic exits via Skokie Valley Road |
| Lake | North Chicago | 49.6 | 79.8 | | IL 137 (Buckley Road) | |
| Lake | Waukegan | 51.6 | 83.0 | — | Northpoint Boulevard | Southbound exit and entrance |
| Lake | Waukegan | 52.0 | 83.7 | — | Old Skokie Highway | Northbound exit and entrance |
| Lake | Waukegan | 52.4 | 84.3 | — | IL 120 (Belvidere Road) | Interchange |
| Lake | Waukegan | 52.7 | 84.8 | — | IL 43 south (Waukegan Road) | Northbound traffic from IL-43 merges onto northbound U.S. Route 41; southbound traffic from U.S. 41 to IL-43 South and IL-120 West use the same ramp; northern terminus of IL 43 |
| Lake | Gurnee | 53.2 | 85.6 | — | Washington Street | Interchange; northbound ramp also goes to Old Skokie Highway |
| Lake | Gurnee | 54.0 | 86.9 | — | IL 132 (Grand Avenue) | Northbound ramp also goes to Grandville Avenue |
| Lake | Gurnee | 56.1 | 90.3 | | IL 21 north (Riverside Drive) | Northern terminus of IL 21 |
| Lake | Wadsworth | 59.0– 61.6 | 95.0– 99.1 | | IL 173 (Rosecrans Road) | |
| Lake | Wadsworth | 62.8 | 101.1 | | I-94 Toll east (Tri-State Tollway) – Chicago, Indiana I-41 begins | Southern end of I-41/I-94 concurrency; southern terminus of I-41; southern end of freeway; southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-94 exit 1B |
| Lake | Wadsworth | 63.3 | 101.9 | 1 | CR A1 (Russell Road) | Signed as exit 1A southbound |
| Lake | Wadsworth | 64.81 | 104.30 | | I-41 north / I-94 west / US 41 north – Milwaukee | Continuation into Wisconsin |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Route transition |||||||