Interstate 57 runs 386 miles from Sikeston, Missouri to Chicago, Illinois, serving as the principal north-south corridor across central Illinois and the Mississippi Embayment. The route ties together the Memphis-area freight network (via I-55) and the Chicago intermodal hubs without going through St. Louis.
For freight, I-57 is the preferred long-haul route between the Memphis FedEx hub and Chicago for traffic that doesn't need to stop at St. Louis — saving roughly 100 miles compared to I-55. It carries heavy intermodal and finished-vehicle volumes.
Geographically I-57 is mostly flat, crossing the Mississippi Embayment in southeast Missouri and the central Illinois prairie. Weather hazards are dominated by ground blizzards across the open prairie segments, lake-effect snow at the Chicago terminus, and occasional ice events in the central segment.
- Crosses two states: MO, IL
- Connects Memphis-area freight network to Chicago without going through St. Louis
- Concurrent with I-24 briefly near Marion, IL
- Toll-free across its entire 386-mile length
- Northern terminus on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago
- Crosses the Mississippi Embayment / Bootheel region of Missouri
- Carries heavy Memphis-Chicago intermodal traffic