I-494 / I-694 stubs, Chicago

In the 1960s, I-494 was a planned freeway upgrade to the portion of Lake Shore Drive between Jackson Park and Ohio Street passing through the Loop (possibly becoming the Lake Shore Expressway?), as well as connectors to the planned Lake Shore Expressway. These connectors would have been known as the Stony Island Expressway running from I-94 (Bishop Ford / Calumet Freeway) to Lake Shore Drive and the Ohio Street Expressway running from Lake Shore Drive to I-90/I-94 (Kennedy Expressway). Portions of this route were built, and those are featured on this page. However, none of the Lake Shore Drive upgrades were built, so there is no Lake Shore Drive section here.

The I-494 number was moved to the also-unbuilt Crosstown Expressway that would have been west of the Loop and served as an "inner bypass" between the Loop and I-294. No traces of the Crosstown Expressway exist today. As a result, this eastern alignment was then proposed as I-694.

This page assumes the primacy of I-494 because unlike the Crosstown Expressway, stubs of this I-494 alignment were built, and signs once existed for I-494 along the Ohio Street Feeder.

Whether I-494 (or I-694) would have been signed as a north-south (per the compass) or east-west (per east-west I-94, where signed east is compass south, and vice versa) is unknown. However, I-294 is signed north-south thanks to compass directions, so I'll assume I-494 would have been north-south because of the compass directions.

Stony Island Expressway:

The Stony Island Expressway starts at I-94. There is a connecting leg to and from the west/north because the mainline starts to and from the east/south. There is a short stretch of expressway before the expressway ends at 95th Street (US 12/20).

These large flyover ramps from the Chicago Skyway to Stony Island Avenue were built as part of the cancelled I-494 freeway in Chicago. The ramps would have connected I-90 WB to I-494 NB, as well as I-494 SB to I-90 EB.

Ohio Street Expressway (Ohio Street Feeder):

On the ramp from I-90/I-94 EB to the Ohio Street Feeder eastbound (former I-494 SB).

The ramps from the I-90/I-94 Express Lanes, as well as from I-90/I-94 WB join to form the Ohio Street Feeder.

The Ohio Street Feeder continues as a grade separated roadway.

Crossing the Chicago River. 

The Ohio Street Feeder ends at Orleans Street.

Now heading westbound on the Ohio Street Feeder (former I-494 NB). The only signs of note are all signs for I-90/I-94. The Dan Ryan Expressway technically doesn't begin until the Circle / Jane Byrne Interchange, but the Kennedy Expressway eastbound very quickly transitions into the Dan Ryan because there is only a short distance between the Jane Byrne and Ohio Street interchanges.