Interstate 55 begins in Chicago along Lake Shore Drive (US Route 41) and heads southwest along the former route of US Route 66, crossing the Mississippi River into St. Louis, Missouri. It passes along Joliet's western flank and connects to Normal, Bloomington, and Springfield before it reaches the St. Louis metroplex.
The exit list starts in the south, at the Livingston/McLean County Line, and proceeds north to Interstate 55's northern terminus at Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. For points on Interstate 55 south of the Livingston/McLean County line, click here. Interstate 55 crosses northward from McLean County into Livingston County at mile 188...
Exit 197 connects Interstate 55 to Illinois 116, Pontiac, and Flanagan:
Exit 201, on the north side of Pontiac, provides access to Illinois 23, which connects to Pontiac and Streator:
Exit 209 provides a link to Odell:
Exit 217 on the west side of Dwight connects to Illinois 17, which can take travelers to Dwight and Streator (via Illinois 18):
Exit 220 allows Interstate 55's users to access Illinois 47, Dwight, and Morris:
Exit 227 meets the southern end of Illinois 53 at Gardner:
Exit 233 connects to Reed Road in Braidwood:
Exit 236 meets Illinois 113 where Braidwood meets Diamond, but signage only mentions Coal City and Kankakee:
Exit 238 only allows the northbound side of Interstate 55 to access Illinois 129, at a half-redacted interchange:
Exit 240 is for Lorenzo Road, a local road that runs westward toward Morris:
Exit 241 is a fountain interchange leading to North River Road, a county road useful for accessing Wilmington:
Exit 244 accesses Arsenal Road, giving trucks a roadway connection to two intermodal freight terminals:
Exit 247 links to Bluff Road in Channahon:
Exit 248 provides a connection to US Route 6 in Channahon, but signage only points to Morris and Joliet as control cities:
Exit 250A is the first half of a cloverleaf to Interstate 80, and this ramp accesses Interstate 80 east toward "Indiana":
Exit 250B loops around to access Interstate 80 west, toward "Iowa":
Exit 251 creates the southern start of Illinois 59 toward Plainfield and Shorewood, but it only connects to Interstate 55 to/from the south:
Exit 253 accesses US Route 52, linking to Joliet and Shorewood:
Exit 257 connects to US Route 30 alongside Plainfield, but signs only point to Aurora and Joliet:
Exit 261 is the eastern end of Illinois 126, marking a curve into an east-northeast alignment that Interstate 55 follows until its very end, and the partial interchange only provides access to/from the east-northeast:
Exit 263 is a new diverging diamond interchange (DDI) accessing Weber Road:
Exit 267 leads to Illinois 53, connecting to Romeoville and Bolingbrook:
Exit 268 access Joliet Road, but only to/from the northeast on Interstate 55:
Exit 269 provides access to Interstate 355, splitting into a northern ramp for the northwest suburbs and a southern ramp for the southwest suburbs:
Exit 271A is the first half of a cloverleaf interchange to Lemont Road; this first ramp accesses southbound Lemont Road (toward Lemont!):
Exit 271B is the second cloverleaf ramp, to Lemont Road north:
Exit 273A is for Cass Avenue south, at another cloverleaf interchange:
Exit 273B is for Cass Avenue north, toward Darien:
Exit 274 is a collector/distributor lane that accesses a cloverleaf to Illinois 83, Kingery Highway:
Exit 276A access County Line Road south, as Interstate 55 crosses from DuPage County into Cook County:
Exit 276B reaches County Line Road north, and Interstate 55 continues into its last ever county, Cook County:
Exit 276C splits off to Joliet Road from the northbound lanes, at a partial interchange only accessing Interstate 55 to/from the south: