Interstate 57

Interstate 57 is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Sikeston, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between the south and Chicago, bypassing St. Louis, Missouri. Between the junction of I-55 and I-57 in Sikeston, Missouri and the junction of I-55 and I-90/94 in Chicago, I-55 travels for 436mi, while the combination of I-57 and I-94 is only 396mi long between the same two points. In fact, both the control cities on the overhead signs, as well as destination mileage signs, reference Memphis along southbound I-57, even as far north as its northern origin at I-94 in Chicago. Likewise, at its southern end, Chicago is the control city listed for I-57 on signs on northbound I-55 south of Sikeston, Missouri, even though I-55 also goes to Chicago., I-57 has no spur routes, nor are any planned for the near future. At a length of just over 386mi, it is the second longest two-digit Interstate Highway without an auxiliary route, behind I-49. I-57 has one business loop in Charleston, Missouri.Route descriptionMissouriIn the state of Missouri, Interstate 57 runs northbound from Sikeston to the Cairo I-57 Bridge over the Mississippi River south of Cairo, Illinois.