page_title: Dan Ryan Expressway
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dan Ryan Expressway / History
context_page_description: The Dan Ryan Expressway is a freeway in Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with Interstate 290 near Downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both I-90 and I-94 south to 66th Street, a distance of 7.44 miles. South of 66th Street, the freeway meets the Chicago Skyway, which travels southeast; the I-90 designation transfers over to the Skyway, while the Dan Ryan Expressway retains the I-94 designation and continues south for 4.03 miles, ending at an interchange with I-57. This is a total distance of 11.47 miles. The freeway was named for Dan Ryan, Jr., a former president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
context_section_description: The first segment of the Dan Ryan, opened on December 12, 1961 and ran between US 12/US 20, 95th Street north to 71st Street in Chicago's Grand Crossing neighborhood. It was named after the recently deceased Dan Ryan, Jr., who was President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners who had worked to accelerate construction of Chicago-area expressways. A year later on December 15, 1962, the 8-mile (13 km) stretch of the Dan Ryan between 71st Street and I-90/Eisenhower Expressway (now signed as I-290) opened to the public as well as a 0.2-mile (0.32 km) stretch that connected it to the Bishop Ford Freeway. During the planning stages it was also known as the South Route Expressway.
   
  In 1988–1989, the northern three miles (4.8 km) of the Dan Ryan, known as the Elevated Bridge, were completely reconstructed.
  In 2006 and 2007, the Illinois Department of Transportation reconstructed the entire length of the Dan Ryan Expressway, including the addition of a travel lane from 47th Street to 95th Street. The project was the largest expressway reconstruction plan in Chicago history. The total cost of the project was $975 million, nearly twice the $550 million original estimate for the project.
caption: Heavy traffic in 1973
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