Wacker Drive

The only street in Chicago that goes both north-south and east-west, thanks to its course along the river. And also, the only street in Chicago that has directional prefixes for all four cardinal directions. This corresponds to the fact that Wacker Drive intersects State Street (divider between East and West prefixes) as well as Madison Street (divider between North and South prefixes).

The street also has multiple levels, Lower Wacker Drive and Upper Wacker Drive are the main two, but at the eastern end, there's an even deeper third level, Sub-Lower Wacker Drive.

The sandwich of elevated roads that make up the three levels of Wacker Drive. The uppermost deck is Upper Wacker Drive, the middle is Lower Wacker Drive, and ground level is Sub-Lower Wacker Drive.

Upper Wacker Drive

The upper level of Wacker Drive is made primarily for local traffic, and it has all of the views of Chicago.

I've had the experience of driving on Upper Wacker Drive, walking its sidewalks, and even running on Upper Wacker Drive as part of the Chicago 5K.

The start of Wacker Drive.

One of the most recognizable buildings in Chicago. The Sears Tower.

The Merchandise Mart Building. This was once the largest building in the world in terms of floor area.

Lower Wacker Drive

Lower Wacker Drive is built to serve through traffic between I-290 and Lake Shore Drive. The road additionally serves a series of loading docks as well as the Chicago Pedway.

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