Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Amstutz Expressway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Amstutz Expressway |
|
| Length: | 2.9 miles (4.6 km) |
|---|---|
| Formed: | 1972 |
| Direction: | North-South |
| From: | Sheridan Road in Waukegan |
| To: | Greenwood Avenue in Waukegan |
| Major cities: | Waukegan |
| System: | Illinois State Highway System |
The Amstutz Expressway is a short, limited-access road located in Waukegan. It was built in the 1970s to ease traffic in Waukegan’s downtown area, but it is now known as “the road that leads nowhere” by locals.[1] The 2.9-mile, four-lane highway was intended to be a connecting route for the downtown area, but a critical link through the neighboring village of North Chicago was never built, and the factories that the expressway was designed to serve have since closed. Today, the thoroughfare carries less than 15,000 vehicles per day.[2][1] Because it is used so little, this short stretch of highway has been the setting for filming such movies as Groundhog Day, The Blues Brothers,[3] The Ice Harvest, and Batman Begins.[4]
In the early 2000s, proposals were made to remove the expressway, thus narrowing the space needed for roadway, and then moving the nearby railroad right-of-way to the unused expressway land as part of a revitalization project for the lakefront area.[5] Illinois Route 137 follows the entire length of the expressway, and received this designation in 1994 when Illinois 137 was extended north to the Wisconsin state line.[6]
The Amstutz Expressway was named after Mel Amstutz, a former Lake County Highway Superintendent.[7]
Illinois 137 has one exit at Grand Avenue and Mathon Drive.
- ^ a b Waukegan Lakefront Development Corporation, January 5, 2004
- ^ Illinois Department of Transportation (2006). Getting Around Illinois. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
- ^ Ground Hog Day Trivia
- ^ Cinema Review. Batman Begins Production Notes.
- ^ Campaign for Sensible Growth, March 20, 2002
- ^ Carlson, Rich. Illinois Highways Page: Routes 121 thru 140. Last updated April 15, 2005. Retrieved August 9, 2006.
- ^ Plummer, Andy (2006). Stratton's Tollway.
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth
