Illinois 59 is a major four-lane arterial for most of its length, running parallel to and about east of the Fox River in Illinois. It is especially congested in the suburbs of Aurora and Naperville, where traffic counts average 40,000-55,000 vehicles per day. To accommodate the congestion, the 7.5-mile stretch between Ferry Road and 95th Street has been widened to six lanes. In the corridor from Shorewood to Plainfield and in the corridor from Warrenville to Hoffman Estates, the road is also fairly congested, with traffic counts averaging 25,000-40,000 vehicles per day; these portions are four lanes wide. Most portions along Illinois 59 are zoned for commercial uses, however there are extensive stretches of residential areasalong the road in West Chicago, Barrington, and Fox Lake Hills. Illinois 59 is the only numbered highway with a Metra station named after it: the Route 59 station on the BNSF line, which differentiates the station from the Naperville and Aurora stations. Illinois 59 is called Fox Lake Road in Fox Lake Hills, Grand Avenue in portions of Ingleside and eastern Fox Lake, Sutton Road from South Barrington to Bartlett, Neltnor Boulevard in West Chicago, Hough Street in Barrington, and Brook Forest Avenue and Cottage Street in Shorewood. Illinois 59 overlaps U.S. Route 12 between Wauconda and Fox Lake. In almost every town or village spanning Route 59, retail development and residential sprawl can be found. The Route 59 corridor includes regional shopping areas in the Naperville/Aurora area, the Hoffman Estates/South Barrington/Streamwood area, the Plainfield area, and the Joliet/Shorewood area. The Route 59 corridor also includes large community retail areas in Volo/Fox Lake, Wauconda, Bartlett, West Chicago, and Warrenville. Route 59 also travels through the Barrington Historic District and is proximate to significant office complexes and job centers at its junctions with Interstate 90 and Interstate 88; these intersecting corridors of commerce are known as the Golden Corridor and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor respectively. The regional shopping mallsWestfield Fox Valley in Aurora and The Arboretum of South Barrington can also be found along the Route 59 corridor.
History
SBI Route 59 ran from Joliet to Antioch on the current Illinois 59. Illinois 59 was replaced by U.S. Route 66 as U.S. 66 made its way onto a new highway in 1940; by 1957, Illinois 59 had been returned to its original state. The Illinois Department of Transportation opened a diverging diamond interchange at Illinois 59 and Interstate 88 in September 2015.
