GOING THE LONG WAY AROUND. Something called the Chicago - Kansas City Expressway, which has been in the works for over 50 years, is now open (map.pdf). The Chicago end of it uses Interstate 88 through DeKalb, which adds another obscure sign to the Illinois Technology Corridor signs that also apply to the route. The DeKalb Chronicle editorialists don't know what to make of it.

Transportation officials hope the idea will catch on because it could lessen traffic on an overburdened Interstate 55 in the Chicago area and a busy Interstate 70 from St. Louis to Kansas City.

To take the new CKC Expressway from Chicago, take I-290, then I-88 west to the Quad Cities, then go south on I-74 to Galesburg, exit and meander past Monmouth, Macomb and Quincy, cross the Mississippi River at Hannibal, Mo., go west on U.S. Route 36 to I-35, then veer south to Kansas City.

The distance – 530 miles or so – is comparable to taking I-55 and I-70. Portions of the route have been rebuilt, and the traffic shouldn’t be heavy.

The expressway nomenclature misleads: most of the route is limited-access highway or Interstate Highway, but it's not all grade-separated restricted access.

The Legislature’s resolution states the cities are two of the major commercial and tourism centers of the Midwest, and, therefore, deserve to be connected.

So, will the public buy it?We’re reminded of an Abraham Lincoln quote: “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”

Well, calling a highway the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway doesn’t make it so. For instance, imagine drivers from Kansas City encountering I-PASS lanes for the first time. That confusing experience could torpedo the whole concept.

However, properly promoted, the designation does offer the potential of more motorists and truckers stopping in our region for fuel, food and lodging.

Some expressway. Trucks in a hurry have a faster corridor already. It's called the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, er, the BNSF Transcontinental Line by way of Galesburg, Ft. Madison, and Marceline. The line has unrealized passenger train potential as well.