Interstate 39 in Illinois

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Interstate 39 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	140.82 mi[1] (226.63 km)
Formed:	December 1989 – I-55 to Hudson[2] September 2, 1992 – IL 116 to IL 17[3]
South end:	I-55 in Normal
Major junctions:	I-80 in Peru I-88 in Rochelle I-90 in Rockford
North end:	Wisconsin border near South Beloit, IL
Illinois state highway system < IL 38 US 40 >

In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 39 is a north-south expressway that runs from its southern terminus at Interstate 55 in Normal to South Beloit. This is a length of 140.82 miles (226.63 km).^[1]

As of 2007, there are no plans to extend Interstate 39 south of the Bloomington-Normal area. IDOT also has no plans to upgrade U.S. Route 51 to a freeway south of Bloomington-Normal.

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Future 4 Exit list 5 References

[edit] Route description

Interstate 39 runs north largely through rural areas from the city of Normal. About 55 miles (89 km) north of Normal, I-39 crosses the Illinois River over the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge, the longest bridge in Illinois at a length of 2,170.8 metres (1.3 mi).^[4] Just north of the Illinois River, I-39 splits the cities of LaSalle and Peru before intersecting Interstate 80.

North of I-80, terrain is generally hillier than areas south of I-80. The Mendota Hills Wind Farm is located in the area around Mendota and extends north near Paw Paw starting at about milepost 72. Dozens of turbines can easily be seen from the freeway. I-39 then runs south and east of downtown Rockford, running concurrent with U.S. 20 until it just before I-39 joins the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and Interstate 90 near Cherry Valley. U.S. 51 leaves I-39/90 in South Beloit, while I-39/90 continue north into Wisconsin.

For all but 1 mile (2 km) that Interstate 39 is in Illinois, it is designated concurrently with U.S. Route 51. The southern terminus of I-39 is less than 1 mile (2 km) from Interstate 74 as it runs around Normal.

[edit] History

I-39 was built in sections from Bloomington north to Rockford, and run on existing highways from Rockford to the Wisconsin state line. In December 1989, the section from Bloomington to Hudson opened, a distance of about 4.4 miles (7.1 km)^[2][5] In early September 1992, another segment opened from IL 116 north to IL 17.^[3]

Interstate 39 was considered at one point for the unbuilt Peoria-to-Chicago Highway.

Originally the expressway was intended to be built at least as far south as Decatur. When travelling on Interstate 72, between mileposts 139 and 140, there are embankments for an expressway interchange that was never constructed. At one time there were pavement stubs leading onto the embankments but they have since been removed.

[edit] Future

As of October 2007, the Illinois Department of Transportation is in the preliminary design stages for a project involving reconstruction of I-39 from U.S. Route 20 east to Harrison Street in Rockford. The goal of the project is to reconstruct ramps to modern-day standards, and allow southbound I-39 traffic to use through lanes at the U.S. 20 interchange.^[6] Currently, southbound I-39 traffic must exit from the U.S. 20 freeway.

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
McLean	Normal	0.0	N/A	Interstate 55 — St. Louis, Missouri, Chicago US 51 South — Decatur, Illinois	U.S. 51 northbound joins with I-39 northbound. Southern terminus of I-39.
			2	(Bus. US 51)
	Hudson		5	County 12
			8	County 8
Woodford	El Paso		14	US 24 — El Paso, Peoria
	Woodford		22	IL 116 — Metamora, Flanagan
	Minonk		27	Minonk
Marshall	Wenona		35	IL 17 — Lacon, Wenona
LaSalle	Lostant		41	IL 18 — Henry, Streator
	Tonica		48	Tonica
	Oglesby		51	IL 71 — Hennepin, Oglesby
			52	IL 251 — Peru
			54	Oglesby
	La Salle	Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge over the Illinois River
			57	US 6 — LaSalle, Ottawa
			59	I-80 — Des Moines, Iowa, Chicago
	Troy Grove		66	US 52 — Troy Grove
	Mendota		72	US 34 — Mendota, Earlville
Lee	Paw Paw		82	Paw Paw
			87	US 30 — Sterling-Rock Falls, Aurora
	Steward		93	Steward	No services.
Ogle	Rochelle		97	I-88 — Moline-Rock Island, Chicago
			99	IL 38 — DeKalb, Rochelle
			104	IL 64 — Sycamore, Oregon
	Monroe Center		111	IL 72 — Genoa, Byron
Winnebago	Rockford		115	Baxter Rd.
				US 20 West	U.S. 20 eastbound joins with I-39 northbound.
	Cherry Valley		122A-B	US 20 East	U.S. 20 westbound joins with I-39 southbound.
		I-39 northbound joins Jane Addams Memorial Tollway WB — mileposts belong to tollway and increase from here.
		61		I-90 - Rockford, Chicago	I-39/US 51 follows I-90 west
	Rockford	63		US 20 Business - State St.
		64		Riverside Blvd	Westbound Exit - Eastbound Entrance tolled
		~67		IL 173 — Laine Rd	Tolls on westbound exit, eastbound entrance ramps.
	Rockton	75	South Beloit Toll Plaza
		76	3	Rockton Rd
	South Beloit	Begin Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Eastbound) — mileposts belong to I-90 and decrease from here.
			1	IL 75 West - South Beloit	Eastbound POV
				US 51 North / IL 75 West - South Beloit	Westbound POV
Wisconsin state line. Northbound I-39 continues with I-90 WB.

[edit] References

Interstate 39
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