Interstate 72 in Illinois

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Interstate 72
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Central Illinois Expressway[1]
Maintained by IDOT
Length: 182.56 mi[2] (293.80 km)
Formed: 2000
West end: I-72 at Missouri state line
Major
junctions:
I-172 in Fall Creek
I-55 in Springfield
I-57 in Champaign
East end: Matts Avenue in Champaign
Illinois state highway system
< IL 71 IL 72 >

In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 72 (abbreviated I-72) is an east-west Interstate highway that runs from the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River with U.S. Route 36 east to the city limits of Champaign. This is a distance of 182.56 miles (293.80 km).[2] The portion of I-72 and Interstate 172 (abbreviated I-172) from Quincy to Springfield, Illinois is commonly referred to by its former name, the Central Illinois Expressway (abbreviated CIE).[1]

Contents

[edit] Route description

A section of I-72, north of Seymour, Illinois, facing west.
A section of I-72, north of Seymour, Illinois, facing west.

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. At 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 into downtown Champaign.

[edit] History

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 east of Hannibal, Missouri, though it was contingent on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval. The FHWA preferred to designate the route I-72.[3][4]

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.[4][5] Once the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was completed in September 2000, I-72 was extended to its current western terminus at U.S. Route 61 in Hannibal, Missouri.

[edit] Exit list

County Location #[6] Destinations Notes
Pike 1 IL 106Hull
4A I-172 north – Quincy
10 IL 96 to IL 57Payson, Hull
20 To IL 106Barry
31 Pittsfield, New Salem
35 US 54 / IL 107Pittsfield, Griggsville
Scott 46 IL 100Bluffs, Detroit
52 IL 106Winchester
Morgan 60 Business Loop 72/U.S. 67Alton, Beardstown, Jacksonville Signed as exits 60A (south) and 60B (north)
64 IL 267Alton, Jacksonville
68 22.5px
Business Loop 72/To IL 104Jacksonville
76 IL 123Ashland, Alexander
Sangamon 82 New Berlin
Springfield 91 Wabash Avenue - Springfield, Loami
93 IL 4Springfield, Chatham
97A I-55 south - St. Louis West end of I-55 overlap
97B I-55 Bus. north (6th Street) – Springfield
94 Stevenson Drive, East Lake Drive
96 IL 29 (South Grand Avenue) – Taylorville Signed as exits 96A (south) and 96B (north)
98B IL 97 west (Clear Lake Avenue)
103B I-55 north – Chicago East end of I-55 overlap
104 Camp Butler
108 Riverton, Dawson
114 Buffalo, Mechanicsburg
122 Mount Auburn, Illiopolis
Macon 128 Niantic
Decatur 133A US 36 east – Decatur East end of US 36 overlap
133B US 51 south – Pana West end of US 51 overlap
138 IL 121Decatur, Lincoln
Decatur 141A
US 51 Bus. south – Decatur
141B US 51 north – Bloomington East end of US 51 overlap
144 IL 48Oreana, Decatur
Piatt
150 Argenta
156 IL 48Cisco, Weldon
164 Monticello
166 IL 105 west – Monticello
169 White Heath Road
172 IL 10Clinton
Champaign 176 IL 47Mahomet
182A I-57 south - Memphis
182B I-57 north to I-74 east - Indianapolis, Chicago
Champaign University Avenue Continuation beyond I-57

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Schoenburg, Bernard. "Road to the top? Designation puts expressway in the 'big leagues'", The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL), 1995-04-28. 
  2. ^ a b Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). T2 GIS Data. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  3. ^ 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. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  4. ^ a b Interstate 172 Illinois. Interstate-Guide.com.
  5. ^ 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. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  6. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.


Interstate 72
Previous state:
Missouri
Illinois Next state:
Terminus