the suburban boom began in the western suburbs after the second world war, naperville remained out of the range of growth until 1954, when plans for a transportation system began as it was announced as the east-west toll road. the route slirted the northern edge of naperville and included an interchange which linked the city to downtown chicago via the completed eisenhower expressway. as a result, residential, industrial, and retail services boomed in naperville. the city expanded to 50 square miles in 1993, with a population of 128,358 in 2000. among the area, only aurora and chicago were larger in size.