Infrastructure Chicago

1 infrastructure

1.1 transportation

1.1.1 expressways
1.1.2 transit systems
1.1.3 passenger rail
1.1.4 bicycle-sharing system
1.1.5 freight rail
1.1.6 airports
1.1.7 port authority


1.2 utilities
1.3 health systems

infrastructure
transportation


aerial photo of jane byrne interchange, opened in 1960s

chicago major transportation hub in united states. important component in global distribution, third-largest inter-modal port in world after hong kong , singapore.

expressways

seven mainline , 4 auxiliary interstate highways (55, 57, 65 (only in indiana), 80 (also in indiana), 88, 90 (also in indiana), 94 (also in indiana), 190, 290, 294, , 355) run through chicago , suburbs. segments link city center named after influential politicians, 3 of them named after former u.s. presidents (eisenhower, kennedy, , reagan) , 1 named after two-time democratic candidate adlai stevenson.

the kennedy , dan ryan expressways busiest state maintained routes in entire state of illinois.

transit systems

chicago union station, opened in 1925, third-busiest passenger rail terminal in united states

the regional transportation authority (rta) coordinates operation of 3 service boards: cta, metra, , pace.

the chicago transit authority (cta) handles public transportation in city of chicago , few adjacent suburbs outside of chicago city limits. cta operates extensive network of buses , rapid transit elevated , subway system known l (for elevated ), lines designated colors. these rapid transit lines serve both midway , o hare airports. cta s rail lines consist of red, blue, green, orange, brown, purple, pink, , yellow lines. both red , blue lines offer 24‑hour service makes chicago 1 of handful of cities around world (and 1 of 2 in united states, other being new york city) offer rail service 24 hours day, every day of year, within city s limits.
metra, nation s second-most used passenger regional rail network, operates 11-line commuter rail service in chicago , throughout chicago suburbs. metra electric line shares trackage northern indiana commuter transportation district s south shore line, provides commuter service between south bend , chicago.
pace provides bus , paratransit service in on 200 surrounding suburbs extensions city well. 2005 study found 1 quarter of commuters used public transit.

greyhound lines provides inter-city bus service , city, , chicago hub midwest network of megabus (north america).

passenger rail

amtrak train on empire builder route departs chicago union station

amtrak long distance , commuter rail services originate union station. chicago 1 of largest hubs of passenger rail service in nation. services terminate in san francisco, washington, d.c., new york city, indianapolis, new orleans, portland, seattle, milwaukee, quincy, st. louis, carbondale, boston, grand rapids, port huron, pontiac, los angeles, , san antonio. attempt made in 20th century link chicago new york city via chicago – new york electric air line railroad. parts of built, never completed.

bicycle-sharing system

chicago s department of transportation oversees operation of divvy, north america s largest bicycle-sharing system (by geography), allowing residents , visitors ability check out public bikes of hundreds of automated stations located on large area of city, take them short rides, , return them station of choosing. divvy launched in 2013 750 bikes , 75 docking stations , has since expanded 5,800 bikes , 580 stations of december 2016.

freight rail

chicago largest hub in railroad industry. 6 of 7 class railroads meet in chicago, exception being kansas city southern railway. of 2002, severe freight train congestion caused trains take long through chicago region took there west coast of country (about 2 days). according u.s. department of transportation, volume of imported , exported goods transported via rail to, from, or through chicago forecast increase 150 percent between 2010 , 2040. create, chicago region environmental , transport efficiency program, comprises 70 programs, including crossovers, overpasses , underpasses, intend improve speed of freight movements in chicago area.

airports


o hare international airport

chicago served o hare international airport, world s second-busiest airport measured airline operations, on far northwest side, , midway international airport on southwest side. in 2005, o hare world s busiest airport aircraft movements , second-busiest total passenger traffic. both o hare , midway owned , operated city of chicago. gary/chicago international airport , chicago rockford international airport, located in gary, indiana , rockford, illinois, respectively, can serve alternate chicago area airports, not offer many commercial flights o hare , midway. in recent years state of illinois has been leaning towards building entirely new airport in illinois suburbs of chicago. city of chicago world headquarters united airlines, world s third-largest airline.

port authority

the port of chicago consists of several major port facilities within city of chicago operated illinois international port district (formerly known chicago regional port district). central element of port district, calumet harbor, maintained u.s. army corps of engineers.

iroquois landing lakefront terminal: @ mouth of calumet river, includes 100 acres (0.40 km) of warehouses , facilities on lake michigan on 780,000 square meters (8,390,000 square feet) of storage.
lake calumet terminal: located @ union of grand calumet river , little calumet river 6 miles (9.7 km) inland lake michigan. includes 3 transit sheds totaling on 29,000 square meters (315,000 square feet) adjacent on 900 linear meters (3,000 linear feet) of ship , barge berthing.
grain (14 million bushels) , bulk liquid (800,000 barrels) storage facilities along lake calumet.
the illinois international port district operates foreign trade zone no. 22, extends 60 miles (97 km) chicago s city limits.

utilities

electricity of northern illinois provided commonwealth edison, known comed. service territory borders iroquois county south, wisconsin border north, iowa border west , indiana border east. in northern illinois, comed (a division of exelon) operates greatest number of nuclear generating plants in state. because of this, comed reports indicate chicago receives 75% of electricity nuclear power. recently, city began installing wind turbines on government buildings promote renewable energy.

natural gas provided peoples gas, subsidiary of integrys energy group, headquartered in chicago.

domestic , industrial waste once incinerated landfilled, in calumet area. 1995 2008, city had blue bag program divert recyclable refuse landfills. because of low participation in blue bag programs, city began pilot program blue bin recycling other cities. proved successful , blue bins rolled out across city.

prentice women s hospital on northwestern memorial hospital downtown campus


health systems

the illinois medical district on near west side. includes rush university medical center, ranked second best hospital in chicago metropolitan area u.s. news & world report 2014–15, university of illinois medical center @ chicago, jesse brown va hospital, , john h. stroger jr. hospital of cook county, 1 of busiest trauma centers in nation.

two of country s premier academic medical centers reside in chicago, including northwestern memorial hospital , university of chicago medical center. chicago campus of northwestern university includes feinberg school of medicine; northwestern memorial hospital, ranked best hospital in chicago metropolitan area u.s. news & world report 2010–11; rehabilitation institute of chicago, ranked best u.s. rehabilitation hospital u.s. news & world report; new prentice women s hospital; , ann & robert h. lurie children s hospital of chicago.

the university of illinois college of medicine @ uic second largest medical school in united states (2,600 students including @ campuses in peoria, rockford , urbana–champaign).

in addition, chicago medical school , loyola university chicago s stritch school of medicine located in suburbs of north chicago , maywood, respectively. midwestern university chicago college of osteopathic medicine in downers grove.

the american medical association, accreditation council graduate medical education, accreditation council continuing medical education, american osteopathic association, american dental association, academy of general dentistry, academy of nutrition , dietetics, american association of nurse anesthetists, american college of surgeons, american society clinical pathology, american college of healthcare executives, american hospital association , blue cross , blue shield association based in chicago.