Illinois Route 4

Illinois Route 4
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length: 170.44 mi[2] (274.30 km)
Existed: 1918[1] – present
Major junctions
South end: IL 13 / IL 127 / CR 18 north of Murphysboro
North end: I-55 Bus. north of Springfield
Location
Counties: Jackson, Perry, Randolph, Washington, St. Clair, Madison, Macoupin, Sangamon
Highway system

Illinois state highway system
Illinois Tollway system

IL 3 IL 5

Illinois Route 4 is a long state road that runs south from the Interstate 55 business loop around Springfield south to Illinois Route 13 just north of Murphysboro. This is a distance of 170.44 miles (274.30 km).[2]

Contents

Route description

Illinois 4 starts at Illinois 13 and Illinois 127 at a point about eight miles (13 km) north of Murphysboro. It zigzags through small southern Illinois towns such as Steeleville, Sparta, and Marissa before straightening out near Mascoutah. Illinois 4 is an important road in St. Clair and Madison Counties since it connects many towns on the outskirts of the St. Louis area. From Carlinville to Springfield, the route is also important since it connects many good-sized towns in Macoupin and Sangamon Counties. Illinois 4 passes through Chatham, a fast-growing city outside of Springfield, before reaching the state's capitol.

Illinois 4 in Springfield is known as Veterans Parkway. It completes the western loop around the city of Springfield, and is a divided four-lane highway that serves Springfield commercial areas such as White Oaks Mall.

It is also worth noting that the northbound lane of IL 4 is in Washington County for less than one mile (1.6 km), on its southwest corner near the unincorporated town of Clarmin, where it runs concurrently with IL 13.

History

Illinois State Bond Issue Route 4 was the first numbered through route between Chicago and St. Louis, as shown on the 1924 Illinois Road Map.[3] As such it was the forerunner of more famous routes US 66 and Interstate 55.

In 1926, a new alignment for Route 4 was opened between Joliet and Lyons, on the north side of the Des Plaines River. The old alignment on the south side of the river through Lemont was renamed Illinois Route 4A[4] and then renamed again in 1967 as Illinois Route 171.[5]

When US 66 was first designated in 1926, it overlapped IL 4 for its entire length, however the section from just south of Staunton to Springfield was originally shown only as "Temporary US 66"[6] while the permanent routing of US 66 is shown as proposed or under construction on a more eastern route away from IL 4 through Litchfield. The new route of US 66 was completed as SBI 16 and SBI 126 in 1930, and the US 66 designation was then removed from IL 4 between Staunton and Springfield.[7] Illinois Route 4 and US Route 66 remained as cosigned routes between the Mississippi River and Staunton, and between Springfield and Chicago until 1935, when the IL 4 designation was dropped from portions where it overlapped US 66, leaving only the portion from Staunton to Springfield as IL 4.[8] This left IL 4A as an orphan alternate route of IL 4 from Joliet to Lyons until it was renumbered as IL 171 in 1967.

The section of modern IL 4 from Staunton to its southern end near Murphysboro was originally IL 43. In 1964, IL 4 was extended on this highway and the number IL 43 was eventually reused in the Chicago area.[9]

Historical designation

A bypassed portion of old route 4 north of Auburn is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as "Illinois Route 4-North of Auburn". It was added in 1998 as structure #98000979 and consists of two c.1920 bridges over Little Panther Creek and portions of Curran and Snell roads. One section is a c.1932 1.53 mile long brick road and the other is a c.1921 Portland cement road 16 feet (4.9 m) wide and 1,277 ft (389 m) long.[10]

Major intersections

County Location Mile[11][12] Junction Notes
Jackson 0.0 IL 13 / IL 127
Ava 10.8 IL 151
Perry and Randolph 21.7 IL 150 Beginning of concurrency with IL 150
Randolph 28.0 IL 150 End of concurrency with IL 150
Sparta 35.7 IL 154
41.8 IL 13 Beginning of concurrency with IL 13
St. Clair Marissa 45.3 IL 13 End of concurrency with IL 13
St. Libory 53.7 IL 15 Beginning of concurrency with IL 15
Fayetteville 58.3 IL 15 End of concurrency with IL 15
Mascoutah 66.2 IL 177
68.7 IL 161
70.7 I-64
Lebanon 73.7 US 50 Beginning of concurrency with US 50
74.3 US 50 End of concurrency with US 50
Madison 82.2 US 40
85.4 I-70
87.1 IL 143
94.1 IL 140
97.1 I-55
Macoupin Benld 109.1 IL 138 Beginning of concurrency with IL 138
109.7 IL 138 End of concurrency with IL 138
Gillespie 112.0 IL 16 Beginning of concurrency with IL 16
112.5 IL 16 End of concurrency with IL 16
Carlinville 124.0 IL 108 Beginning of concurrency with IL 108
124.7 IL 108 End of concurreny with IL 108
Sangamon Auburn 149.5 IL 104
Springfield 161.2 I-72 / US 36
166.3 IL 97
168.7 IL 29
170.44 I-55 Bus.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

References

  1. ^ Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 1 thru 20. Last updated March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). "T2 GIS Data". http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 
  3. ^ 1924 Illinois Road map [1]
  4. ^ 1926 Illinois Road Map [2]
  5. ^ 1967 Illinois Official Highway Map [3]
  6. ^ 1928 Illinois Road Map [4]
  7. ^ 1931 Official Illinois Highway Map [5]
  8. ^ 1935 Illinois Road Map [6]
  9. ^ 1964 Illinois Official Highway Map [7]
  10. ^ http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/205601.pdf
  11. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Overview map of Route 4 Between Jackson County and Interstate 55 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=IL-4+N&daddr=W+Knauer+St+to:IL-4+N%2FCo+Rd+4%2FCounty+Line+Rd+to:IL-150+W%2FIL-4+N%2FShawneetown+Trail+to:38.06898,-89.70413+to:W+Broadway+St+to:IL-4+N+to:IL-13+W%2FIL-4+N+to:IL-4+N+to:Main+Ave+to:Jefferson+St%2FState+Route+4+to:IL-4+N+to:IL-4+N+to:S+Madison+St+to:S+Madison+St+to:IL-4+N+to:IL-4+N+to:IL-4+N+to:IL-4+N+to:IL-4+N&hl=en&geocode=FXK9QQIdBA6t-g%3BFSgqQgId4lWq-g%3BFTwtRAIdYOio-g%3BFTYLRAIdrEin-g%3BFfTiRAIdPjmn-ikvovdjATZ2iDHR1kyHCvk-sw%3BFQK2RQIdqEKn-g%3BFXISRwIdEj2n-g%3BFYCfRwIdkqmm-g%3BFSxlSQId5vCm-g%3BFXKXSQIdStSl-g%3BFZRQSwIdPtul-g%3BFabZSwIdCt2l-g%3BFa5ATAIdDqel-g%3BFdbpTAIdoqSl-g%3BFa4MTQIdwKSl-g%3BFQbCTgIdarml-g%3BFaN1TwIdBMCl-g%3BFZbWTwIdar6l-g%3BFehkUQIdtL-l-g%3BFcEMUgId3r2l-g&mra=pr&via=4&sll=38.481135,-89.56913&sspn=2.257497,4.938354&ie=UTF8&ll=38.927633,-89.730492&spn=0.140219,0.308647&t=h&z=12. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
  12. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Overview map of Route 4 Between Interstate 55 and Springfield (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=IL-4+N&daddr=S+Hardroad+to:S+Hardroad+to:S+Macoupin+St+to:E+Elm+St+to:IL-4+N+to:S+Broad+St+to:IL-4+N+to:S+Veterans+Pkwy+to:IL-4+N%2FVeterans+Pkwy+to:IL-4+N%2FVeterans+Pkwy+to:Veterans+Pkwy&hl=en&geocode=FdAMUgId3r2l-g%3BFf6CVAIdSJWl-g%3BFcifVAIdMoOl-g%3BFfASVQIdYnal-g%3BFagjVQId7JGl-g%3BFW9XVwIdA7Kk-g%3BFQBbVwIdKISk-g%3BFVgSXAIdiGOm-g%3BFU1sXgIdvDKn-g%3BFW6KXwIdhkan-g%3BFcTQXwIdr9Wn-g%3BFUr-XwIdXk-o-g&mra=mi&mrcr=10&mrsp=11&sz=17&sll=39.845013,-89.633353&sspn=0.004325,0.009645&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=17. Retrieved 2010-12-21.