facing west toward the intersection with
Route 59 IL 56 begins at a partial cloverleaf interchange with US 30/IL 47 in
Sugar Grove, located east of the
Aurora Municipal Airport. While US 30 exits the road to travel south toward
Montgomery, the road continues as IL 56. The road becomes a free limited-access road for the next . IL 56 then meets Galena Boulevard at another partial cloverleaf interchange, which directly connects to Aurora and its downtown area. With the exception of the Golf View Road junction for westbound traffic, this interchange is the only intermediate exit between US 30/IL 47 and
I-88. Traveling eastbound, IL 56 merges with I-88 just west of
Orchard Road and continues along the tollway until intersecting with
IL 31. The route travels north along IL 31 until turning east along State Street in North Aurora. The route then crosses over the
Fox River before traveling along a sharp S-curve. IL 56 travels along Butterfield Road in an east-northeast direction beyond
IL 25, paralleling I-88. Butterfield Road serves as a major arterial road within the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. Between the Batavia Spur of the
Illinois Prairie Path and the
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway overpass, IL 56 serves as the southern border for
Fermilab. Beyond the EJ&E Railway overpass, the road becomes a
divided highway. IL 56 then parallels the Aurora branch of the Illinois Prairie Path between IL 59 and St. James Farm. IL 56 goes through commercial and industrial developments beyond I-355 in
Downers Grove, such as
Yorktown Center in
Lombard. In
Oak Brook, IL 56 exits off the mainline to continue along Butterfield Road; traffic continuing straight would end up on
22nd Street. IL 56 then meets IL 83 and IL 38 at a series of interchanges north of the
Oakbrook Center. The surrounding commercial development wanes as IL 56 goes through residential areas in
Elmhurst,
Hillside, and
Bellwood. In Bellwood, IL 56 leaves Butterfield Road and briefly travels east along Washington Boulevard before ending at US 12/US 20/US 45 (Mannheim Road). == History ==