Expressways Shape South Side and Beyond
South Side
As automobiles increasingly became the popular mode of transportation, Chicago's landscape was transformed by the construction of new roads. In 1940, city council approved a system of highways radiating from downtown. These highways, including the Edens, the Eisenhower, the Dan Ryan, and the Kennedy Expressways, opened in sections in the 1950s and 1960s. They featured innovations such as median rapid transit lanes and reversible lanes to lighten rush-hour traffic.
The expressways sparked economic growth for outlying areas and suburbs, where shopping and business districts developed. However, the routes of some sections split neighborhoods and displaced residents and businesses. The routes of these roads continue to shape the official and unofficial boundaries of Chicago's communities.
The Dan Ryan Expressway, which runs from downtown through the South Side of Chicago to 95th Street, was completed in the 1960s. Congressman Dan Rostenkowski spoke at the opening celebration, praising the collaboration that led to the completion of the project. He shared his vision for the new transportation network to connect people to the new services and programs being developed throughout the region.
A Chicago native, Rostenkowski served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959 to 1995. The Dan Rostenkowski Papers are held at the Congressional Archives, part of the Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections department.
