Illinois Route 53 (IL 53) is an arterial north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. IL 53 runs from Main Street west of historic U.S. Route 66 (US 66) in Gardner to IL 83 in Long Grove, a distance of . It mainly cuts through the western suburbs of Chicago, passes through Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Crest Hill and Joliet, merging into I-55 at Gardner. Route description IL 53 begins at the County Road 29 (CR 29) and I-55 interchange and heads east in Gardner. At the first intersection, the route runs along the path of historic US 66 for about before making a left and leaving former US 66. The route continues east and loops around Gardner before heading northeast, running parallel with I-55. It crosses over the Mazon River before passing through Braceville and Godley. In Braidwood, the highway intersects IL 113 and runs parallel with IL 129. IL 129 moves away from IL 53 before entering the Hitts Siding Prairie Nature Preserve. IL 53 the crosses over the Kankakee River before intersecting the northern terminus of IL 102 in Wilmington. The route then continues north through the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, passing by the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and the former Joliet Arsenal in Elwood. From Elwood to Joliet, the route follows the old alignment of US 66, becoming concurrent with US 52 for nearly a mile. It also intersects I-80 before separating from US 52 and running concurrently with US 6 entering downtown. At the intersection of US 30, IL 53 separates from US 6 and continues north. It crosses over the Des Plaines River before running concurrently with IL 7 and passing by the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. Near Lewis University, IL 7 separates from IL 53. The route passes by Romeoville before interchanging I-55 in Bolingbrook. IL Lisle, the route interchanges US 34 before meeting I-88. It then intersects IL 56 and IL 38 before passing under and running parallel with I-355. West of Addison, it intersects US 20 before passing under I-355 again. Then, it runs parallel with I-290 and intersects IL 19. At Biesterfield Road, the highway then runs concurrently with I-290, intersecting IL 72 and passing over IL 58 before reaching the northern terminus of I-290 at I-90. From there, IL 53 remains as a freeway heading north. It interchanges IL 62, US 14, and US 12 in Palatine. The northeast Palatine