Editing Interstate 355 (section)

{{Short description|Highway in Illinois}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox road
|state= IL
|type= I
|route= 355
|name= Interstate 355
|alternate_name=Veterans Memorial Tollway
|maint= [[Illinois State Toll Highway Authority|ISTHA]] and [[Illinois Department of Transportation|IDOT]]
|map={{maplink-road|from=Interstate 355.map}}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=I-355 highlighted in red
|length_mi= 32.5
|length_ref= <ref name=length_note group=lower-alpha >I-355 originally ran {{convert|20.01|mi|km}} from I-55 to I-290, according to Illinois' 2005 GIS data. The southern extension added {{convert|12.5|mi|km}} to this length, according to the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.</ref>
|established= December 24, 1989
|history= Extended to [[Interstate 80 in Illinois|I-80]] on November 11, 2007
|spur_type=I
|spur_of=55
|direction_a= South
|terminus_a= {{Jct|state=IL|I|80}} in [[New Lenox, Illinois|New Lenox]]
|junction=
*{{Jct|state=IL|US|6}} in New Lenox
*{{Jct|state=IL|I|55|US-Hist|66}} in [[Bolingbrook, Illinois|Bolingbrook]]
*{{Jct|state=IL|US|34}} in [[Downers Grove, Illinois|Downers Grove]]
*{{Jct|state=IL|I-Toll|88|CKC}} in Downers Grove
*{{Jct|state=IL|US|20}} in [[Addison, Illinois|Addison]]
|direction_b= North
|terminus_b= {{Jct|state=IL|I|290}} in [[Itasca, Illinois|Itasca]]
|counties= [[Will County, Illinois|Will]], [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook]], [[DuPage County, Illinois|DuPage]]
|previous_type= IL
|previous_route= 351
|next_type= IL
|next_route= 390
}}
[[File:I-355 and I-55 interchange from air.jpg|thumb|right|Interchange with I-55 in Bolingbrook, formerly the southern terminus of I-355]]

'''Interstate 355''' ('''I-355'''), also known as the '''Veterans Memorial Tollway''', is an [[Interstate Highway]] and [[toll road|tollway]] in the western and southwest suburbs of [[Chicago]] in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of the state, I-355 is maintained by the [[Illinois State Toll Highway Authority]] (ISTHA). I-355 runs from [[Interstate 80 in Illinois|I-80]] in [[New Lenox, Illinois|New Lenox]] north to [[Interstate 290 (Illinois)|I-290]] in [[Itasca, Illinois|Itasca]],<ref name="t2" /> a distance of {{convert|32.5|mi|km|1}}.<ref name="length_note" group=lower-alpha/> With the exception of a {{convert|4|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} expansion in 2009, from [[U.S. Route 34 in Illinois|U.S. Route&nbsp;34]] (US&nbsp;34, Ogden Avenue) to 75th Street, the highway is six lanes wide for its entire length.<ref>{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=I-355&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=28.611123,59.765625&ie=UTF8&ll=41.900999,-88.041&spn=0.20954,0.692139&t=h&z=11&om=1|title=General satellite view of the three-laned I-355 (hybrid view to indicate where the highway is) |access-date=December 17, 2007}}</ref>

The tollway authority opened I-355 as the '''North–South Tollway''' in 1989 to ease congestion on [[Illinois Route 53]] (IL 53), a parallel two-lane state highway in central [[DuPage County, Illinois|DuPage County]]. Initially, I-355 ran from [[Interstate 55 in Illinois|I-55]] north to I-290. The new highway helped cut travel times for commuters traveling north and south in the county. According to commercial real estate developers at the time, the new tollway also opened the western suburbs of Chicago to commercial and industrial development.<ref name="hausner_1989" />

On November 11, 2007, the tollway authority opened a southern extension of I-355, which runs {{convert|12.5|mi|km|1}} between I-55 and I-80. The extension was routed through [[Will County, Illinois|Will County]] and a small portion of [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]], which together formed one of Illinois' fastest-growing regions at the time. The tollway authority expected the extension to cut travel times in the region by 20 percent.<ref name="tollway_I355_south_extension" /> Upon the extension's opening, the tollway authority changed the name of the tollway to "Veterans Memorial Tollway".