Illinois Route 137

Infobox Illinois state route
article_route = 137
length_mi = 23.49
length_round = 2
length_ref = cite web |author=Illinois Technology Transfer Center |url=http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html |title=T2 GIS Data |accessdate=2007-11-08 |date=2006]
direction = J-shaped
direction_a=West
direction_b=North
starting_terminus =
ending_terminus =
counties = Lake
cities = Waukegan, Zion
established = 1953Carlson, Rich. [http://www.n9jig.com/121-140.html Illinois Highways Page: Routes 121 thru 140] . Last updated April 15, 2005. Retrieved April 19, 2006.]
prev_route = 136
prev_type=IL
next_route = 138

Illinois Route 137 is a state highway in northeast Illinois. It runs from the Wisconsin Border north of Winthrop Harbor south to North Chicago, west to Libertyville, and then back northwest to Grayslake, terminating at Illinois Route 83 just south of Illinois Route 120. This is a distance of convert|23.49|mi|km|2.

The eastern portion of Illinois 137 carries part of the Amstutz Expressway, a short freeway between downtown Waukegan and Lake Michigan. It is also the only J-shaped state road in Illinois.

Route description

Illinois 137 is called Buckley Road in the northwest-southeast segment, as well as the east-west segment east of Illinois Route 21 (Milwaukee Avenue). Between these segments, in northern Libertyville, it is called Peterson Road, which continues west as Illinois 137 turns northwest. In North Chicago, at the east end of the Buckley Road alignment, the route turns north near Great Lakes Naval Academy, and becomes Sheridan Road for most of its remaining length to the Wisconsin state line. The exception is the Amstutz Expressway, which runs from Sheridan Road near the southern border of Waukegan to Greenwood Avenue roughly 2 miles north, where the expressway abruptly ends; Illinois 137 follows Greenwood Avenue west a short distance back to Sheridan Road and continues north through Beach Park, Zion, and Winthrop Harbor before terminating at the state line. Wisconsin Highway 32 continues north as Sheridan Road.

The Amstutz Expressway is a short, limited-access road located in downtown 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. [http://www.waukeganlakefront.com/newsclips/shorerestore.htm Waukegan Lakefront Development Corporation, January 5, 2004] ] 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.cite web |url=http://www.gettingaroundillinois.com/default.aspx?ql=aadt |author=Illinois Department of Transportation |date=2006 |accessdate=2007-03-08 |title=Getting Around Illinois] [http://www.waukeganlakefront.com/newsclips/shorerestore.htm Waukegan Lakefront Development Corporation, January 5, 2004] ] 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", [http://imdb.com/title/tt0107048/trivia "Ground Hog Day" Trivia] ] "The Ice Harvest", and "Batman Begins". [Cinema Review. [http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=3005 Batman Begins Production Notes] .]

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. [http://www.growingsensibly.org/news/articleDetail.asp?objectID=962 Campaign for Sensible Growth, March 20, 2002] ] Illinois 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.Carlson, Rich. [http://www.n9jig.com/121-140.html Illinois Highways Page: Routes 121 thru 140] . Last updated April 15, 2005. Retrieved August 9, 2006.]

The Amstutz Expressway was named after Mel Amstutz, a former Lake County Highway Superintendent. [cite web |url=http://www.cookexpressways.com/chapter4.html |title=Stratton's Tollway |accessed=2006-10-02 |date=2006 |author=Plummer, Andy] In 2007, legislation was pending in the Illinois General Assembly to rename the expressway, Bobby Thompson Expressway, after the former mayor of North Chicago. The bill received unanimous support in the Illinois House of Representatives, but has not yet been voted on by the Illinois Senate. [95th General Assembly. [http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HJR&DocNum=75&GAID=9&SessionID=51&LegID=33986 Bill Status of HJR0075 - Bobby E. Thompson Expressway] .]

Exit list

Illinois 137 has one exit at Grand Avenue and Mathon Drive.

External links

* [http://illi-indi.com/il_EndsPage.php?id=1137&section=1 Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois 137]

References