U.S. Route 20 in Illinois
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Highway | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by IDOT | ||||
| Length: | 233.93 mi[1] (376.47 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1926 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
 US 20 in East Dubuque | |||
  I-39 / US 51 in Rockford I-39 / I-90 / US 51 in Rockford I-355 in Addison  I-290 / I-294 in Elmhurst  US 12 / US 45 in Stone Park   I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Westchester I-55 in Hodgkins I-294 in Bridgeview I-94 in Chicago US 41 in Chicago | ||||
| East end: |
US 12 / US 20 / US 41 in Chicago | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in the U.S. state of Illinois is a major arterial highway that runs from the Iowa state line at East Dubuque at the northwestern tip of Illinois, to the Indiana state line at Chicago south of the Chicago Skyway, a distance of 233.93 miles (376.47 km).[1] For its entire length, US 20 is designated as the General Ulysses S. Grant Highway, often abbreviated the U.S. Grant Memorial Highway. However, this name is only commonly used west of Elgin. From Elgin to Melrose Park, US 20 follows Lake Street. It then follows Mannheim Road, and further south La Grange Road. US 20 also follows 95th Street as it turns east through Chicago's southwestern suburbs. It ultimately leaves Illinois on Indianapolis Boulevard.
Route description
Northwest Illinois
As the highway enters Illinois across the Julien Dubuque Bridge, it continues southeasterly for a while, paralleling the Upper Mississippi River before turning east into the rugged country of the Driftless Area in Jo Daviess County, then turning flat and straight west of Stockton, Illinois and entering Stephenson County. The Ulysses S. Grant Home, a national landmark, fronts near the highway at the eastern edge of Galena, Illinois.
In Freeport, US 20 is routed onto a limited-access freeway bypass. Between Freeport and Rockford there are two traffic light-controlled intersections. The Rockford bypass routes US 20 onto a full limited-access freeway; it remains this way until it overlaps Interstate 39 southeast of downtown Rockford. Interchanges on the Rockford Bypass include West State Street (Business US 20), South Meridian Road, Montague Road, South Main Street (Illinois Route 2), 11th Street (Illinois Route 251), and South Alpine Road.
Rockford to Elgin
East of Rockford, the routing of US 20 runs parallel with Interstate 90, with US 20 serving minor cities that are not accessible from the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway. It is a four-lane divided highway from I-39 to just east of Belvidere; for the rest of this segment, it is a winding, rural two-lane road.
US 20 travels through the downtowns of the small towns and unincorporated areas of Garden Prairie, Harmony and Starks, as well as the city of Marengo. At Starks, eastbound US 20 overlaps southbound Illinois Route 47 and westbound Illinois Route 72, forming a wrong-way concurrency. All three routes pass beneath a railroad viaduct before separating south of Starks.
Continuing east, US 20 travels through Pingree Grove before entering the Elgin area. Before entering Elgin, US 20 widens to a four lane limited-access freeway that bypasses Elgin. This road is known as the Elgin Bypass.
Elgin to Indiana
At the end of the Elgin bypass, US 20 takes on the name of Lake Street. US 20 has numerous high-volume intersections, including a grade-separated interchange with Illinois Route 59. In Hanover Park, an early-2000s reconstruction project widened lanes on the road and created a median for safer travel; east of Barrington Road / County Farm Road, the road briefly becomes six lanes for one mile (1.6 km) until the Elgin–O'Hare Expressway.
US 20 continues in an east-southeast direction through the town center of Bloomingdale and becomes six lanes at the Bloomingdale-Roselle border. It maintains six lanes through a very high traffic corridor to Interstate 290 and onwards to Illinois Route 53 before it returns to four lanes while serving downtown Addison, paralleling Interstate 290 to the north. Past Elmhurst, the road overlaps Interstate 290 for a mile.
US 20 continues through Stone Park and Melrose Park before turning south and joining U.S. Routes 12/45. At this point, US 20 becomes Mannheim Road, and later, La Grange Road, until it turns onto 95th Street eastbound with U.S. 12. This combination later joins with U.S. Route 41, where the three routes follow Ewing Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard, which are the last portions of US 20 prior to its crossing the state line into Indiana.
History
The routing of US 20 has not changed since 1938. Prior to 1938, US 20 continued east on Lake Street east of Mannheim Road (US 12/US 45). It ran through downtown Chicago and exited Chicago south on what is now Torrence Avenue.[2] In 1955, the Illinois General Assembly designated the entire length of US 20 in Illinois the "U.S. Grant Memorial Highway". New signs were produced in late 2007 to reflect this designation along its entire length.[3]
Future
Long-range plans call for US 20 to be upgraded to a full four-lane highway from Rockford to the Iowa border near Dubuque. The project dates back to the 1970s, when a major supplemental freeway system was proposed in Illinois. One of the routes, FAP 401, was a freeway that was to run across northwestern Illinois from Rockford to Dubuque.[4] Portions of the freeway were built in the form of bypasses around Rockford and Freeport, while a four-lane divided expressway was built between those two cities. In addition, a four lane divided expressway was constructed between Galena and East Dubuque.
A freeway between Freeport and Galena has been proposed. The new roadway would run from an interchange with IL 84, northwest of Galena, to an interchange on the west end of the previously constructed Freeport bypass.[5] However, funding is the biggest obstacle to constructing the roadway, estimated at over $1 billion.[6] Only the Galena bypass segment has received any funding beyond Phase I, and no segment has received any construction funding.[7]
This would complete the last remaining section of US 20 in northwestern Illinois not upgraded to four lanes. Upon the completion of this project and construction a new four lane bridge over the Mississippi River, US 20 will be a continuous four lane divided highway between Rockford and Interstate 35 in Iowa.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque | Dubuque |   US 20 west / Great River Road (National Route) north – Dubuque | Continuation into Iowa | |||
| Mississippi River | 0.0 | 0.0 | Iowa–Illinois state line (Julien Dubuque Bridge) | |||
| Jo Daviess | East Dubuque | 0.7 | 1.1 |  IL 35 north (Wisconsin Avenue) – Wisconsin | Southern terminus of IL 35 | |
| Elizabeth Township | 11.2 | 18.0 |  IL 84 north – Hazel Green, Wis. | Western end of IL 84 overlap | ||
| Rawlins Township | 26.4 | 42.5 | IL 84 south / Great River Road (National Route) south – Hanover, Savanna | Eastern end of IL 84/Great River Road overlap | ||
| Stockton | 41.7 | 67.1 |  IL 78 south – Mount Carroll | Western end of IL 78 overlap | ||
| Stockton–Wards Grove township line | 42.9 | 69.0 | IL 78 north – Warren | Eastern end of IL 78 overlap | ||
| Stephenson | Lena | 50.8 | 81.8 |  IL 73 – Lena, Pearl City | ||
| Freeport | 57.4 | 92.4 |  US 20 Bus. east – Freeport | Western terminus of US 20 Business | ||
| 61.8 | 99.5 | — |  IL 26 – Freeport, Monroe, Wis. | Interchange | ||
| 65.0 | 104.6 | — |  IL 75 – Freeport, Rockton | Interchange | ||
| 68.8 | 110.7 | — | US 20 Bus. west / Springfield Road – Freeport | Eastern terminus of US 20 Business | ||
| Winnebago | Rockford | 85.9 | 138.2 | — | US 20 Bus. east (State Street) | Western terminus of US 20 Business; Eastbound exit, westbound entrance |
| 87.7 | 141.1 | — | Meridian Road | Interchange | ||
| 90.1 | 145.0 | — | Montague Road | Interchange | ||
| 92.7 | 149.2 | — |  IL 2 (Main Street) – Dixon | Interchange | ||
| 94.6 | 152.2 | — |  IL 251 (11th Street) – Rochelle | Interchange | ||
| 96.8 | 155.8 | — | Alpine Road | Interchange | ||
| 97.3 | 156.6 | — | I-39 south / US 51 south – Bloomington | Western end of I-39/US 51 overlap | ||
| 100.4 | 161.6 | 122 | I-39 north / US 51 north to I-90 / Harrison Avenue – Chicago, Wisconsin | Eastern end of I-39/US 51 overlap; signed as exits 122A (west) and 122B (east) | ||
| Boone | Belvidere | 106.1 | 170.8 | — | Appleton Road | Interchange |
| 108.0 | 173.8 | US 20 Bus. west (Belvidere Road) to I-90 (Genoa Road) | Eastern terminus of US 20 Business | |||
| McHenry | Marengo | 119.2 | 191.8 |   IL 23 (State Street) to IL 176 (Telegraph Street) | ||
| Kane | Hampshire | 128.0 | 206.0 | I-90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) – Chicago, Rockford | ||
| Pingree Grove | 133.6 | 215.0 |   IL 47 north / IL 72 east – West Dundee, Huntley | Northern end of IL 47/IL 72 overlap | ||
| 134.0 | 215.7 | IL 47 south / IL 72 west – Elburn, Hampshire | Southern end of IL 47/IL 72 overlap | |||
| Elgin | 141.5 | 227.7 | — |  CR 34 (Randall Road) | Interchange | |
| 141.6 | 227.9 | — | Larkin Avenue | Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance only | ||
| 143.0 | 230.1 | — | McLean Boulevard | Interchange | ||
| 144.4 | 232.4 | — |  IL 31 (State Street) | Interchange | ||
| 145.1 | 233.5 | — |  IL 25 (Liberty Street) | |||
| Cook | 146.4 | 235.6 | — | Villa Street | Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance only | |
| Bartlett | 148.6 | 239.1 | — |  IL 59 (Sutton Road) – Barrington, West Chicago | Interchange | |
| DuPage | Hanover Park | 152.6 | 245.6 | — |  IL 390 east (Elgin–O'Hare Tollway) – O'Hare | Interchange |
| Addison | 158.6 | 255.2 | — | I-355 south / I-290 west – Joliet, Chicago | ||
| 158.8 | 255.6 |  IL 53 (Rohlwing Road) | ||||
| Addison–Elmhurst village line | 162.6 | 261.7 | — |  IL 83 (Kingery Highway) | Interchange | |
| Elmhurst | 163.8 | 263.6 | 12 | I-290 west (Eisenhower Expressway) – Rockford | Western end of I-290 overlap | |
| 164.8 | 265.2 | 13 | I-290 east (Eisenhower Expressway) – Chicago | Eastern end of I-290 overlap | ||
| 165.2 | 265.9 |  IL 64 (North Avenue) | ||||
| Cook | Berkeley | 167.3 | 269.2 | US 12 west / US 45 north (Mannheim Road) | Northern end of US 45 overlap | |
| Bellwood | 168.4 | 271.0 |  IL 56 west (Washington Boulevard) | Eastern terminus of IL 56 | ||
| 169.2 | 272.3 | I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) (Eisenhower Expressway, Chicago–Kansas City Expressway) – Chicago | ||||
| Westchester | 169.7 | 273.1 |  IL 38 west (Roosevelt Road) | Eastern terminus of IL 38 | ||
| La Grange | 172.9 | 278.3 |  US 34 (Ogden Avenue/Walter Payton Memorial Highway) | |||
| Hodgkins | 176.8 | 284.5 | I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) – Chicago, St. Louis | |||
| Justice | 178.1 | 286.6 | I-294 south (Tri-State Tollway) – Indiana | |||
| 178.3 | 286.9 | — |  IL 171 (Archer Avenue/Archer Road) | |||
| Palos Hills | 180.2 | 290.0 | US 45 south (La Grange Road) | Southern end of US 45 overlap | ||
| Bridgeview | 182.5 | 293.7 | I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) – Wisconsin, Indiana | |||
| 182.9 | 294.3 |  IL 43 (Harlem Avenue) | ||||
| Oak Lawn | 185.9 | 299.2 |  IL 50 (Cicero Avenue) | |||
| Chicago | 191.0 | 307.4 |   Halsted Street to (IL 1) to I-57 / Bishop Ford Freeway (I-94 east) | |||
| I-94 east (Dan Ryan Expressway) – Chicago Loop | Access to I-94 east and from I-94 west only | |||||
| 196.5 | 316.2 | US 41 north (Ewing Avenue) | Northern end of US 41 overlap | |||
| 197.9 | 318.5 |  I-90 (Chicago Skyway, Indiana Toll Road) to I-80 / I-94 – Toledo | ||||
| 198.0 | 318.7 | US 12 east / US 20 east / US 41 south (Indianapolis Boulevard) – Hammond | Continuation into Indiana | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Business routes
US 20 has been rerouted around the cities of Freeport, Rockford, Elgin and Chicago. A bypass is currently planned for Galena.
The longest Business US 20 in Illinois runs 21 miles (34 km) from just west of Rockford to just east of Belvidere. The route begins just west of Weldon Road and runs as State Street into downtown Rockford, where it is split into two one-way streets (Chestnut Street and Walnut Street for eastbound traffic, Jefferson Street for westbound traffic). The route continues east along State Street all the way through Rockford and becomes a two-lane highway between Rockford and Belvidere. Business US 20 is then routed in an outer loop around the city of Belvidere before merging back with US 20 near Genoa Road and I-90.
Business US 20 in Elgin was removed in 1984. This ran along Larkin Avenue, Highland Avenue, Chicago Street and Villa Avenue. The current routing of US 20 south of Elgin is called the Elgin Bypass.
Business US 20 in Chicago was removed in 1968. This existed from 1960 through 1968; before then, it was City US 20 from 1938 to 1960.[2]
See also
References
- 1 2 Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved November 8, 2007.
- 1 2 Carlson, Rich (March 15, 2005). "Illinois Highways Page: Routes 1 thru 20". Retrieved April 15, 2006.
- ↑ "IDOT Announces New Signs to Commemorate Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Highway" (Press release). Illinois Department of Transportation. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on September 11, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
- ↑ Dees, Dan (November 1, 1974). "Illinois Supplemental Freeway System Proposal" (PDF). Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 11, 2015 – via Midwest Roads.
- ↑ "US 20 Freeport to Galena (Glacier Shadow Pass)". Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ Galena Gazette Staff (December 3, 2013). "Bustos Talks US 20 with Local Leaders". Galena Gazette. Retrieved January 11, 2015 – via Office of Cheri Bustos.
- ↑ "US 20 Galena Bypass". Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
| U.S. Route 20 | ||
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| Previous state: Iowa |
Illinois | Next state: Indiana |