Interstate 72

Interstate 72 marker

Interstate 72
Route information
Maintained by IDOT and MoDOT
Length: 184.00 mi[1] (296.12 km)
Existed: 1970 – present
Major junctions
West end:
US 36 / US 36 Bus. / US 61 in Hannibal, MO
  I-172 in Fall Creek, IL
US 54 in Griggsville, IL
US 67 in Jacksonville, IL
I-55 in Springfield, IL
US 36 / US 51 in Decatur, IL
I-57 in Champaign, IL
East end: Country Fair Drive in Champaign, IL
Location
States: Missouri, Illinois
Highway system

Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61; its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champaign, Illinois. The route runs through the major cities of Decatur, Illinois and Springfield, Illinois. In 2006, the Illinois General Assembly dedicated all of Interstate 72 as Purple Heart Memorial Highway. The stretch between Springfield and Decatur is also called Penny Severns Memorial Expressway, and the section between Mile 35 and the Mississippi River is known as the Free Frank McWorter Historic Highway.

Route description

Lengths
  mikm
MO 2 3
IL 182 295
Total 184 298

I-72 runs for just over 2 miles (3.2 km) in the state of Missouri. Its western terminus is an interchange with U.S. Route 61 to the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River. This bridge connects the city of Hannibal with Illinois. Presently, there are only two exits for I-72 in Missouri.

I-72 parallels the old Wabash Railroad from Hannibal, MO east through Illinois to Champaign, IL. The Norfolk Southern Railway operates this railroad route today.

In Illinois, I-72 runs for 182 miles (293 km). The portion of I-72 and I-172 from Springfield to Quincy is commonly referred to as the Central Illinois Expressway (CIE). As of 2007, I-72 has one business route -- Business Loop 72 in Jacksonville.

Near Valley City at mile marker 42 are the Valley City Eagle Bridges. These two individual two-lane spans bridge the Illinois River in rural west-central Illinois. Near mile marker 78, a sign marks 90 degrees longitude.

At its eastern terminus in Champaign, I-72 continues as Church Street (westbound) and University Avenue (eastbound), which stay as one-way streets for an additional 3 miles (4.8 km) into downtown Champaign.

History

A section of I-72, north of Seymour, Illinois, looking west

Until the mid-1990s, I-72 ran from Springfield at Interstate 55 to Champaign at Interstate 57. On June 9, 1991, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the establishment of Interstate 172 from the western terminus of I-72 at Springfield to Fall Creek, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Hannibal, Missouri, though it was contingent on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval. The FHWA preferred to designate the route I-72.[2][3]

After discussions regarding extending an Interstate-standard highway through the state of Missouri, on April 22, 1995, AASTHO approved another renumbering. I-172 was renumbered in its entirety as I-72. The U.S. 36 extension west of Fall Creek was also given the I-72 designation. The Illinois Route 336 expressway was renumbered to I-172 from Fall Creek to Fowler.[3][4]

Prior to September 2000, Mark Twain Avenue (old US 36) was composed of the current Mark Twain Avenue (now Route 79) and the portion of I-72 and US 36 west of Exit 157 to the Hannibal city limits. Route 79 terminated at the foot of the old Mark Twain Memorial Bridge at the corner of Third Street and Mark Twain Avenue. Signs along the four-lane expressway portion of Mark Twain Avenue marked the route as "Future I-72", while signs along what is now Route 79 had I-72 trailblazers to direct drivers to the temporary terminus at Fall Creek, Illinois.

When the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was completed in September 2000, I-72 was routed over the new bridge, along with US 36. Route 79 was extended along Mark Twain Avenue to terminate at Exit 157. The portion of I-72 and US 36 west of Exit 157 is now referred to as the V.F.W. Memorial Highway.

Originally, I-72 opened with a posted speed limit of 65 mph (105 km/h). However, when it first opened, some drivers were confused and were driving it at 35 mph (56 km/h), the old posted speed limit on Mark Twain Avenue. Later, Hannibal convinced MoDOT to lower the speed limit along I-72 and US 36 within the Hannibal city limits to 55 mph (89 km/h).

Chicago-Kansas City expressway

The concept of I-72 across Missouri was to create the Chicago – Kansas City Expressway, a rural four-lane highway across northern Missouri and west central Illinois from Cameron, Missouri at I-35 to Springfield, Illinois at I-55. This would provide a series of rural 4-lane highways (I-35, US 36, I-72, and I-55) connecting Chicago to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Corridor (High Priority Corridor 23). This would reduce the amount of through traffic, primarily truck traffic, in the St. Louis, Des Moines, and Quad Cities metropolitan areas by serving as an alternate route for I-70 and I-80. The Missouri portion of this route is designated as part of High Priority Corridor 61.

Based on the 157-mile (253 km) marker at Route 79, when US 36 is upgraded to Interstate standards across Missouri, the future western terminus of I-72 would be at Cameron, Missouri at the intersection with I-35. Currently, the west end of I-72 route is west of US 61 and flows concurrent with US 36 into Illinois. In 2004, US 36 was upgraded to a 4-lane expressway between US 61 and US 24 at the Rocket Junction (7 miles). There are three exits along this expressway: Veterans Road, Shinn Lane (Hannibal Regional Hospital), and US 24 East (Future Hannibal Bypass) at the Rocket Junction. This expressway is up to interstate standards (completed August 2007). Also, an interchange with Route 15 was installed in Shelbina. At Clarence, US 36 resumes 4-lane expressway status.

Due to funding priorities, upgrading US 36 between Macon and Hannibal was a low-priority project and was officially tabled by MoDOT. MoDOT committed to constructing the four-lane highway as a non-interstate expressway only if the five counties served by US 36 east of Macon would contribute half of the $100 million cost.

Four-lane construction

The first proposition of the expressway construction, Proposition 36, was passed by a majority of the voters in Macon, Marion, Monroe, and Shelby counties. However, residents of Ralls County rejected the proposition, citing lack of economic benefit for the county. US 36 cuts through the very northwest corner of Ralls County from Monroe City to the BNSF viaduct, a distance of 4 miles (6.4 km). Since the proposition failed in Ralls County, the entire proposition failed.

Businesses and voters in the other four counties still strongly supported the four-lane expressway project. At the next election, on August 3, 2005, voters of all five counties approved Proposition 36B, which excludes Ralls County from the Transportation Development District and allows for the construction of a 4-lane US 36 to be constructed without Ralls County's participation. The Proposition passed 66 percent to 34 percent and passed by a majority in all 5 counties.

In March 2008, the revised total cost of the project was estimated at $89 million.[5] Additionally:

Road construction to complete the 52.4 miles (84.3 km) between Hannibal and Macon began in 2007. According to MoDOT, the estimated completion date of four lanes from Hannibal to Monroe City, 11.5 mi (18.5 km), was September 2008, from Monroe City to Shelbina, 18.4 mi (29.6 km), was December 2009, and from Shelbina to Macon, 22.5 mi (36.2 km), was December 2010.

In August 2010, the 4-lane expressway was completed from Macon to Hannibal, completing Missouri's portion of the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway.[6]

Exit list

StateCountyLocationmi[7]kmExitDestinationsNotes
MissouriMarionHannibal0.0000.000 US 36 / Route 110 west Monroe City, Kansas CityContinuation beyond US 36 Bus. / US 61
0.1840.296
US 36 Bus. east / US 61 (McMasters Avenue) New London, Palmyra
West end of US 61 Bus. overlap
1.2261.973157
US 36 Bus. west / US 61 Bus. south / Route 79 south / Route N north Downtown Hannibal, Louisiana
East end of US 61 Bus. overlap
Mississippi River2.056
0.0
3.309
0.0
Mark Twain Memorial Bridge
IllinoisPikeLevee Township11.61 IL 106 Hull
46.44
I-172 north / IL 110 (CKC) east Quincy, Chicago
Left exit from both directions; I-172 exit 0.
Kinderhook Township101610 IL 96 / IL 106 Payson, Hull
Barry203220 To IL 106 Barry
New Salem Township315031Pittsfield, New Salem
Griggsville Township355635 US 54 / IL 107 Pittsfield, Griggsville
ScottBloomfield Precinct467446 IL 100 Bluffs, DetroitDetroit signed westbound only
Winchester No. 2 Precinct528452 To IL 106 Winchester
MorganLynnville Precinct609760 I-72 Bus. east / US 67 Alton, Beardstown, JacksonvilleSigned as exits 60A (south) and 60B (north)
South Jacksonville6410364 IL 267 Alton, Jacksonville
Pisgah Precinct6810968 I-72 Bus. west to IL 104 Jacksonville
Alexander Precinct7612276Ashland, Alexander
SangamonIsland GroveNew Berlin
township line
8213282New Berlin
Springfield9114691Wabash Avenue
9315093 IL 4 Springfield, Chatham
9615496MacArthur Blvd
9715692
97
I-55 south / I-55 Bus. north (6th Street) Springfield, St. LouisWest end of I-55 overlap; signed as exit 97 (south). Signed as exit 92A (north) westbound. I-72 westbound exits I-55 via exit 92B.
9915994Stevenson Drive, East Lake Drive
10116396 IL 29 (South Grand Avenue) TaylorvilleSigned as exits 96A (south) and 96B (north)
10316698
103
I-55 north Chicago
IL 97 west (Clear Lake Avenue)
East end of I-55 overlap; I-72 eastbound exits I-55 via exit 98A, I-72 westbound exits itself via exit 103A. IL 97 signed as exit 98B eastbound. Northbound I-55 signed as exit 103B westbound.
Clear Lake Township104167104Camp Butler
108174108Riverton, DawsonDawson signed eastbound only
Mechanicsburg Township114183114Buffalo, Mechanicsburg, DawsonDawson signed westbound only
Illiopolis Township122196122Mt. Auburn, Illiopolis
MaconNiantic Township128206128Niantic
Harristown133214133 US 36 east / US 51 south Decatur, PanaEast end of US 36 overlap; west end of US 51 overlap; signed as exits 133A (east) and 133B (south)
Decatur138222138 IL 121 Decatur, Lincoln
141227141 US 51 north Bloomington, DecaturEast end of US 51 overlap, signed as exit 141A (south) and 141B (north)
Whitmore Township144232144 IL 48 Oreana, Decatur
150240150Argenta
MaconPiatt
county line
Friends CreekWillow Branch
township line
156251156 IL 48 Cisco, Weldon
PiattMonticello Township164264164Monticello
MonticelloSangamon
township line
166267166 IL 105 west Monticello
Sangamon Township169272169White Heath Road
172277172 IL 10 Clinton
ChampaignScott Township176283176 IL 47 Mahomet
Champaign182293182 I-57 to I-74 Memphis, ChicagoSigned as exits 182A (south) and 182B (north). I-57 exit 235B.
University Avenue, Church StreetContinuation beyond I-57, exit 235A.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Auxiliary routes

Interstate 72 Business
Location: Jacksonville
Length: 9.5 mi[8] (15.3 km)

Interstate 72 Business (abbreviated BL 72) is a Business Loop of I-72 in Jacksonville. It runs from the U.S. 36/I-72/U.S. 67 interchange southwest of Jacksonville north along the U.S. 67 bypass of Jacksonville to the former alignment of U.S. 36 (Morton Avenue). On Morton Avenue, BL 72 runs east through downtown Jacksonville until it reaches I-72 at exit 68. This is a distance of 9.5 miles (15.3 km).[8]

References

  1. Federal Highway Administration (2002-10-31). "FHWA Route Log and Finder List: Table 1". Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  2. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (1991-06-09). "Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Executive Committee" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  3. 1 2 "Interstate 172 Illinois". Interstate-Guide.com.
  4. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (1995-04-23). "Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Standing Committee on Highways" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  5. Missouri Department of Transportation, Northeast District (2007), Route 36 four-lane, MoDOT
  6. Missouri Department of Transportation, North Central District (2007), U.S. 36 4-Laning Project: Contract Awarded for Route 36 Four-lane Project from Shelbina to Macon, MoDOT
  7. Missouri Department of Transportation (2012-11-13). Flex Map Viewer (Map). Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  8. 1 2 Google maps estimate.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 72.

Route map: Bing / Google

KML is from Wikidata
Browse numbered routes
US 71MORoute 72
IL 71ILIL 72
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