Beyond McHenry, this outer encircling highway continues on through Woodstock, Marengo, Genoa, Sycamore, De Kalb, Cortland, Sandwich, Millington, and Morris; thence it runs beside or near the Kankakee River through Wilmington, Kankakee, Momence, Shelby, and Maysville, the scenery along the route being very interesting, and much of it romantically beautiful. From Maysville the highway bends north through Valparaiso to Lake Michigan at Michigan City; or by another route from Maysville through La Crosse, Wellsboro, and La Porte to Michigan City, the total length from Kenosha around to Michigan City being approximately two hundred and fifty miles. It is obvious that such a highway, properly built and adorned, would become a strong influence in the development of the social and material prosperity of each of the cities involved, and of all the farming communities along the entire route. The encircling highway next inside the outer one above described begins at Waukegan and passes through Libertyville to Lake Zurich; thence by two routes, one through Barrington to Elgin, the other bending around to skirt the Fox River near Algonquin and Dundee to Elgin, and on through St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia to Aurora. From Aurora the highway continues to Plainfield, where it crosses the Du Page River, thence through Joliet, and by one route through Manhattan, Monee, Eagle Lake, Cedar Lake, Crown Point, and Hobart, to Lake Michigan; and by another route from Joliet, through Chicago Heights, Griffith, and Tolleston to Gary, on the Lake. The highway will be approximately one hundred and forty miles long, and nearly the whole of the northern part of it is very picturesque. The next highway proposed goes through a fine, rolling country west of the Des Plaines River. Beginning at Winnetka, it runs through Des Plaines, Elmhurst, and Hinsdale to Blue Island, whence the route divides into two routes, one running through Harvey and Hammond to Gary, and the other running from Blue Island to Robey, on the Lake. The fourth of the encircling highways begins at Evanston, and passes through Niles or Des Plaines, and along the Des Plaines River to Riverside; all this part of the way, being wooded on the borders of the water, is very beautiful in its present condition. From Riverside, this highway runs through Chicago Ridge to Robey or Blue Island, and from thence to the Lake, over routes already mentioned. [Illustration: XL. CHICAGO. GENERAL DIAGRAM OF EXTERIOR HIGHWAYS ENCIRCLING, OR RADIATING FROM, THE CITY. All the arteries composing the system without the city limits exist, except where shown in dotted lines. City limits shown in red tint; rivers and other waterways in blue. CHICAGO GENERAL DIAGRAM OF EXTERIOR HIGHWAYS ENCIRCLING AND RADIATING FROM THE CITY COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]