Illinois Route 17
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by IDOT | ||||
| Length: | 209.40 mi[1] (337.00 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1918[2] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | 1st Street in New Boston | |||
 US 67 in Viola US 150 in Alpha    I-74 / IL 110 (CKC) in Woodhull US 34 in Bishop Hill US 34 in Galva  I-39 / US 51 in Wenona I-55 in Dwight  US 45 / US 52 in Kankakee I-57 in Kankakee | ||||
| East end: |
 SR 2 in Grant Park | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Mercer, Henry, Knox, Stark, Marshall, LaSalle, Livingston, Kankakee | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
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.[1]
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 Kankakee, IL. 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,[2] 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.[2]
Illinois Route 83A connected Illinois Route 83 (now Illinois Route 17) to Keithsburg.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | 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 / IL 110 (CKC) – 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) | |||
| Bridge over Kankakee River | |||||
| 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
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References
- 1 2 Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- 1 2 3 Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 1 thru 20. Latest version as of March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
- ↑ Illinois Highway Ends. Illinois 17. Retrieved April 21, 2006.
- ↑ 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.