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Kennedy Expressway

The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly 18-mile-long (29 km) freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the West Loop and O'Hare International Airport. The highway was named in commemoration of 35th US President John F. Kennedy. It conforms to the Chicago-area term of using the word expressway for an Interstate Highway without tolls. The Kennedy's official endpoints are the Jane Byrne Interchange with Interstate 290 (Eisenhower Expressway/Ida B. Wells Drive) and the Dan Ryan Expressway (also I-90/94) at the east end, and the O'Hare Airport terminals at the west end. I-190 runs from the western terminus at O'Hare Airport for 3.07 miles (4.94 km), where it meets I-90 and runs a further 6.29 miles (10.12 km), before joining with I-94 for the final 8.44 miles (13.58 km).[1]

For the expressway in New York City, see JFK Expressway. For the freeway in Colorado, see Interstate 25 in Colorado. For the freeway in Nebraska, see U.S. Route 75 in Nebraska.

Kennedy Expressway

17.80 mi[1] (28.65 km)

1960–present

O'Hare International Airport in Chicago

US 12 / US 45 in Chicago

I-294 Toll in Rosemont

I-90 Toll / I-190 in Chicago
IL 171 in Chicago
IL 43 in Chicago
I-94 in Chicago
IL 19 in Chicago
IL 64 in Chicago


I-90 / I-94 / I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Chicago

Traveling eastbound from O'Hare, the Kennedy interchanges with the eastern terminus of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) and with the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) at a complex junction just west of Illinois Route 171 (IL 171, Cumberland Avenue). The Kennedy later merges with the southern end of the Edens Expressway (I-94) at Montrose Avenue; the Kennedy (at this point both I-90 and I-94) then turns south to its junction with the Dan Ryan and Eisenhower Expressways and Ida B. Wells Drive at the Jane Byrne Interchange in downtown Chicago.


With up to 327,000 vehicles traveling on the Kennedy daily, the Kennedy and its South Side extension, the Dan Ryan, are the busiest roads in the Midwest.[1]

List of memorials to John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Expressway (I-90 and I-94) at Steve Anderson's ChicagoRoads.com

Historic, Current & Average Travel Times For The Kennedy Expressway