Origin
Naperville, IL
Late night in Naperville on Sunday
Local time
2:56 AM
CDT
Current temp
51°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Naperville, IL to Lower West Side, IL
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
42m
Distance
29.3 mi
47 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$5
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 39m
★
6 AM
0h 42m
8 AM
0h 49m
10 AM
0h 45m
12 PM
0h 44m
3 PM
0h 45m
5 PM
0h 49m
8 PM
0h 40m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Lower West Side, IL
Quang Vuong
Trip Overview
Naperville to Lower West Side is 29.3 miles and takes about 42 minutes via Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway/Eisenhower Expressway, with a fuel budget near $5 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This trip stays within Illinois, moving from the Midwest region to the same region. It's a relatively short drive, making it ideal for a quick local excursion or an easy addition to a longer journey. You'll primarily be on tollways and expressways, so expect a fairly direct path. Given its brevity, this route is best suited for a single day of travel.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway | 12.9 mi | 16m |
| Eisenhower Expressway | 12 mi | 16m |
| East Ogden Avenue | 1.6 mi | 3m |
| South Ashland Avenue | 1.5 mi | 3m |
| Naperville Road | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| North Naperville Wheaton Road | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| West Congress Parkway | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| West 21st Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
— 12.9 mi, about 16m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Naperville, IL and Lower West Side, IL.
1
Start on North Washington Street
50 ft
·
9 sec
·
North Washington Street
2
Turn left onto US 34
1.6 mi
·
3 min
·
East Ogden Avenue
Use the left lane.
3
Turn left onto North Naperville Wheaton Road
0.3 mi
·
39 sec
·
North Naperville Wheaton Road
Use the left lane.
4
Turn left onto Naperville Road
0.3 mi
·
38 sec
·
Naperville Road
Use the left / straight / right lanes.
5
Take the ramp
0.4 mi
·
48 sec
Toward I 88 Toll East: Chicago
Use the right lane.
6
Merge onto I 88; IL 110
6.9 mi
·
8 min
·
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
7
Keep slight right at fork onto I 88; IL 110
6.0 mi
·
7 min
·
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Merge onto I 290; IL 110
12 mi
·
16 min
·
Eisenhower Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
19 sec
Exit 28B
Toward Paulina Street, Ashland Avenue
Use the slight right lane.
10
Turn straight onto West Congress Parkway
0.2 mi
·
29 sec
·
West Congress Parkway
11
Turn right onto South Ashland Avenue
1.5 mi
·
3 min
·
South Ashland Avenue
Use the right lane.
12
Turn left onto West 21st Street
137 ft
·
5 sec
·
West 21st Street
Use the left lane.
13
Arrive at destination
West 21st Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 105 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 29.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
US 34 / East Ogden Avenue
Turn left onto US 34 / East Ogden Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
5
1.6 mi into trip
|
~3m in
|
North Naperville Wheaton Road
Turn left onto North Naperville Wheaton Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
9.5 mi into trip
|
~14m in
|
I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
27.5 mi into trip
|
~38m in
Take the exit toward Paulina Street, Ashland Avenue
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 28B
Toward Paulina Street, Ashland Avenue
6
29.3 mi into trip
|
~42m in
|
West 21st Street
Turn left onto West 21st Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$4.58 one way
$9.16 round trip
$3.97/gal
25.4 MPG avg
10 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.36 | $5.03 | $10.06 |
| premium | $4.89 | $5.64 | $11.28 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $6.47 | $12.94 |
Estimated Tolls: $0.77
Reagan Memorial Tollway
(12.9 mi)
$0.77
Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$5
Tolls
$1
Total
$5
Estimated CO2 emission: 10.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 70% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 8.8 | 0 | $3.08 | $1.41 |
| Efficient EV | 7.3 | 0 | $2.56 | $1.17 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 11.7 | 0 | $4.10 | $1.88 |
Gas CO2
10 kg
EV CO2
3 kg (70% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Lower West Side, IL
Late night in Lower West Side on Sunday
Local time
2:56 AM
CDT
Current temp
74°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
23 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
42m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This drive features a mixed profile, with 42% of the journey on highways. You'll start on the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, a major artery that accounts for the longest continuous stretch of 12.9 miles. As you progress, you'll transition to the Eisenhower Expressway, offering a consistent, albeit sometimes busy, driving experience. The route generally maintains a fast pace until you approach your destination, where local roads will likely become more prominent. Expect a straightforward drive focused on efficient travel between the two Illinois locations.
42% highway, the rest on surface roads — varied driving throughout.
13 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 12.9 mi on Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near US 34 / East Ogden Avenue.
Driving Effort
8/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 10 decision points packed into just 29.3 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 42m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (US 34 / East Ogden Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 1.6 miles (North Naperville Wheaton Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 9.5 miles (I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Naperville, IL
Full guide →Naperville is a bedroom community in the Chicagoland area. In 2008, Money magazine ranked Naperville third on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 42m. Total distance: 29.3 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
42m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (42%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Scenic Drive
Mixed highway & surface route profile with national parks nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 12.9 miles on Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
Expect about $0.77 in tolls one way, starting with Reagan Memorial Tollway. Most Northeast and Midwest toll agencies accept E-ZPass; in the West and Texas, transponders like TxTag or FasTrak apply. If you do not have a transponder, cashless tolling plates will mail a bill to the vehicle's registered address — usually with a surcharge, so a rental-car toll pass is often cheaper than paying by mail.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Lower West Side, IL before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (US 34 / East Ogden Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 1.6 miles (North Naperville Wheaton Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 9.5 miles (I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — Pullman National Historical Park. See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Lower West Side, IL before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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