Illinois Route 17

Illinois Route 17
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length: 209.40 mi[2] (337.00 km)
Existed: 1918[1] – present
Major junctions
West end: 1st Street in New Boston
East end: SR 2 west of Lowell, Indiana
Location
Counties: Mercer, Henry, Knox, Stark, Marshall, LaSalle, Livingston, Kankakee
Highway system

Illinois state highway system
Illinois Tollway system

IL 16 IL 18

Illinois Route 17 is a rural, arterial east–west state road that runs east from a former ferry crossing in New Boston along the banks of the Mississippi River[3] to State Road 2 west of Lowell, Indiana. It is 209.40 miles (337.00 km) long.[2]

Contents

Route description

Illinois 17 is the main street for numerous small towns in west central and central Illinois. It crosses the Illinois River at Lacon, and passes through Dwight and Kankakee, before it joins with Illinois Route 1 and enters Indiana east of Grant Park.

Illinois 17 also overlaps with U.S. Route 34, old U.S. Route 51, and Illinois Route 40 south of Wyoming. It also crosses the Kankakee River at Momence. The route is largely a 2 lane road except through towns, where it occasionally becomes a 2 lane road with a center turn lane. East of Kankakee, Illinois 17 becomes a 4-lane divided highway.

At its western terminus, Illinois 17 is one of the only routes in the state not to connect to a state highway or U.S. Route of another state. A ferry crossing to Iowa had been dropped in the 1950s,[1] but the terminus has not been moved east to reflect this. In 2003, the discovery that the Mississippi River had deepened at a nearby location raised the possibility of returning ferry service to New Boston.[4] Ferry service in New Boston would be expected to bring 15,000 cars across the river yearly, saving the vehicles from driving to either Burlington, Iowa or Muscatine, Iowa — distances of about 50 miles (80 km) — to cross over into Iowa.

History

SBI Route 17 originally ran from Lacon to Grant Park. The only changes to Route 17 have been extensions east and west, and a relocation to a new road south of Streator.[1]

Major intersections

County Location Mile Junction Notes
Mercer New Boston 1st Street (Mississippi River)
Great River Road north West end of GRR overlap
Great River Road south East end of GRR overlap
Aledo IL 94 south (College Avenue) West end of IL 94 overlap
IL 94 north East end of IL 94 overlap
Viola US 67 (13th Street)
Henry US 150 north West end of US 150 overlap
US 150 south East end of US 150 overlap
Woodhull I-74 – Moline, Galesburg
Nekoma IL 82 north
US 34 west West end of US 34 overlap
Galva US 34 (2nd Street) East end of US 34 overlap
Knox IL 180 south
Stark IL 78 north West end of IL 78 overlap
IL 78 south East end of IL 78 overlap
Toulon IL 91 north (Union Street) West end of IL 91 overlap
Wyoming IL 91 south (7th Street) East end of IL 91 overlap
IL 40 north West end of IL 40 overlap
Marshall IL 40 south East end of IL 40 overlap
Sparland IL 29 north (Railroad Street) West end of IL 29 overlap
IL 29 south (Railroad Street) East end of IL 29 overlap
Illinois River Lacon Bridge
Lacon IL 26 (Prairie Street)
IL 89
IL 117 south
I-39 / US 51 – Bloomington-Normal, Rockford
La Salle IL 251 south West end of IL 251 overlap
Wenona IL 251 north East end of IL 251 overlap
Livingston IL 23
IL 18 west
IL 170
I-55 – Joliet, Springfield
Dwight IL 47 (Union Street)
Kankakee Kankakee IL 113 west (Wall Street)
US 45 north / US 52 north (Kennedy Drive) West end of US 45/US 52 overlap
US 45 south / US 52 south (Washington Avenue) East end of US 45/US 52 overlap
IL 50 north (Indiana Avenue, Harrison Avenue)
I-57 – Chicago, Champaign
Sun River Terrace IL 1 south West end of IL 1 overlap
Momence IL 114 east
Grant Park IL 1 north East end of IL 1 overlap
Lake SR 2 east Continuation into Indiana
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 1 thru 20. Latest version as of March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 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. ^ Illinois Highway Ends. Illinois 17. Retrieved April 21, 2006.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Jason. "Is New Boston Ferry Feasible Again?" Quad-Cities Online. http://qconline.com/progress2003/prog_dsplay.cgi?pr3!id!144550 February 14, 2004. URL retrieved April 21, 2006.