Is using the names for the Chicago-area Interstates dying out? (Dwight: transplants, rentals)

[TheTimidBlueBars]

One of the classic elements of the Chicagoan dialect is to use the long-form names for Interstates (the Eisenhower, the Dan Ryan, the Tri-State, etc.) - people from other parts of the US don't do that with the Interstates in their areas. Growing up, I sort-of alternated those with the numbers (290, 90-94, 294) interchangeably. Over the past couple years I've been trying to use the long-form names more, just as a local tradition thing.

I think I might be in the minority in that regard among young people, though - but I'm not really sure, because the individual Interstates don't come up in conversation that much. But my little brother, for example, always uses the numbers. What say you? Is this tradition holding on among the younger crowd, or is it going the way of affordable Logan Square rentals?

[lepoisson]

I haven't even lived here a year and I constantly refer to the interstates by their nicknames, so I don't think it's going anywhere.

[ahkahn]

I've been here 10 years and still can't figure out which is which... I hate when I hear the nicknames.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by ahkahn

I've been here 10 years and still can't figure out which is which... I hate when I hear the nicknames.

Hmm, I guess mnemonics could help. The sections of I-94 running through the city (from north to south) are the Edens, the Kennedy, the Dan Ryan, and the Bishop Ford. Eating Kangaroo Doesn't Remove Bad Flatulence?

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

Hmm, I guess mnemonics could help. The sections of I-94 running through the city (from north to south) are the Edens, the Kennedy, the Dan Ryan, and the Bishop Ford. Eating Kangaroo Doesn't Remove Bad Flatulence?

The Kennedy is 90, not 94.

[DavePa]

Google street-view uses the name Chicago-Kansas City Expressway if you zoom in more and

Called Chicago-Kansas City expressway zooming out and called Dwight D Eisenhower expressway zooming further out in places.

Or BOTH in this street-view

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8710111,-87.7436465,16z

It's not just inside and outside the city limits either.

The Stevenson expressway was not mentioned. I knew them by their names when I lived in the city also for 6-years. Many cities have expressway/freeway names. Just probably not ALL as Chicago. Philly has the Schuylkill expressway and Delaware expressway. NYC names many of its roadways as Parkways and Drives. Interstates by route # express.

[lepoisson]

I like the names because it helps you tell people where you are. If you say "I'm on the Dan Ryan", I know you're on 90/94 on the south side. If you just said 90/94, you could be near downtown, further north, or further south.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

Hmm, I guess mnemonics could help. The sections of I-94 running through the city (from north to south) are the Edens, the Kennedy, the Dan Ryan, and the Bishop Ford. Eating Kangaroo Doesn't Remove Bad Flatulence?

I've never heard that one before. Interstate route numbers are for those passing through, since they often follow different expressways. I 94 includes the Bishop Ford, the Dan Ryan, the Kennedy, the Edens and finally the TriState. The signs don't even make sense: the Dan Ryan runs north-south but the guide signs say east and west.

[PerseusVeil]

I think the names are more confusing for transplants without cars more than anything else. Those with cars have probably since figured out the names.

[damba]

Originally Posted by pvande55

I've never heard that one before. Interstate route numbers are for those passing through, since they often follow different expressways. I 94 includes the Bishop Ford, the Dan Ryan, the Kennedy, the Edens and finally the TriState. The signs don't even make sense: the Dan Ryan runs north-south but the guide signs say east and west.

FWIW, interstates that lead you (ultimately) east or west have even numbers; north-south are odd numbered. All compounded by sections that actually run north/south (etc.) as you have mentioned. Messy for the tourists unfamiliar with the local vernacular