U.S. Route 6 in Illinois

U.S. Route 6
Grand Army of the Republic Highway
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length:	179.88 mi[1] (289.49 km)
Existed:	1932[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-74 / US 6 in Moline
	I-74 / I-280 in Moline I-80 / IL 110 (CKC) in Colona I-180 in Princeton I-39 / US 51 in LaSalle I-55 in Channahon I-80 in Joliet I-355 in New Lenox I-57 in Markham I-294 in Harvey I-80 / I-94 / IL 83 in Lansing
East end:	I-80 / I-94 / US 6 in Lansing
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← IL 5 IL 6 →

In the state of Illinois, U.S. Route 6 (US 6) is an east–west arterial surface road that runs from the city of Moline in the Quad Cities area to Lansing at the Indiana state line. This is a distance of approximately 179.88 miles (289.49 km).

Route description

In Illinois, U.S. Route 6 can be split into the following sections:

Quad Cities to LaSalle–Peru

U.S. Route 6 crosses the I-74 Bridge from Bettendorf, Iowa south into Moline, concurrent with Interstate 74. It remains with Interstate 74 for 5 miles (8 km) until the intersection with Interstate 280 south of the Rock River. U.S. 6 then turns east at the Quad Cities International Airport. It intersects Interstate 80 as it leaves the Quad Cities area, and closely parallels I-80 for the rest of its length in Illinois.

From the Quad Cities, U.S. 6 travels east through the city of Geneseo. At Sheffield, U.S. 6 overlaps U.S. Route 34 through to Princeton. After an interchange with Interstate 180, U.S. 6 runs with Illinois Route 89 to Spring Valley. In the LaSalle-Peru area, U.S. 6 intersects with Illinois Route 251, U.S. Route 51 and Interstate 39.

LaSalle–Peru to Joliet

U.S. 6 then runs past Ottawa, intersecting with the concurrent Illinois Routes 23/71 before joining with Illinois 71 for 4 miles (6 km). Further east, U.S. 6 runs through Marseilles and Seneca, where Illinois Route 170 terminates. It then runs through Morris and overlaps Illinois Route 47 for a slight northward jog. At Channahon, U.S. 6 has an interchange with Interstate 55.

Joliet to Indiana

U.S. Route 6 at U.S. Route 52 on the southwest side of Joliet.

In the Joliet area, U.S. 6 parallels the Des Plaines River and passes beneath the cantilever bridge carrying Interstate 80 over the Des Plaines River. At this point it is called Railroad Street, but it turns onto McDonough Street with U.S. Route 52 as it crosses the river. It then turns north, overlapping Illinois Route 53 (Chicago Street) and then east with U.S. Route 30 (Cass Street). Two blocks north of leaving U.S. 30, U.S. 6 intersects the southern terminus of Illinois Route 171 and turns east onto Maple Road. In New Lenox it intersects with Interstate 355 and becomes the Southwest Highway.

U.S. 6 turns off the Southwest Highway west of Orland Park and becomes 159th Street, a major east–west arterial through that town and the southern suburbs of Chicago. In Calumet City, U.S. 6 joins with Illinois Route 83 south to the Interstates 80/94 (Kingery Expressway), and then follows the Kingery east into Indiana.

On this routing, U.S. 6 (like nearby U.S. 30) never enters the city limits of Chicago.

History

U.S. 6 first was shown on maps in 1932, mainly on its current routing except for a more southerly routing from Princeton to Spring Valley through De Pue and at the Illinois/Indiana line. In 1934 it was changed to its current routing from Princeton to Spring Valley. In 1966, the eastern border in Illinois was moved onto the Kingery Highway.^[2] The old routing became Business U.S. Route 6 east to Interstate 65. Business U.S. 6 existed in Illinois until the 1970s.^[3]

Prior to the formation of US 6, the road west of Princeton was U.S. Route 32. US 32 remained for several more years until the part east of Princeton became an extension of U.S. Route 34.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1][4]	km	Destinations	Notes
Scott	Bettendorf			I-74 west / US 6 west	Continuation into Iowa
Mississippi River				I-74 Bridge
Rock Island	Moline	0.5	0.80	River Drive	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; Exit 1
		0.9	1.4	7th Avenue	Exit 2
		2.1	3.4	Avenue of the Cities	Exit 3
		3.6	5.8	IL 5 (John Deere Road)	Exits 4A (west) and 4B (east)
		4.5	7.2	I-280 / I-74 east – Peoria, Chicago, Des Moines	East end of I-74 overlap; I-74 Exits 5A (west) and 5B (east)
		5.4	8.7	US 150 south
Henry	​	12.0	19.3	IL 84
	​	13.1	21.1	I-80 / IL 110 (CKC) to I-74 – Joliet, Des Moines	I-80 Exit 9
	Geneseo	22.7	36.5	IL 82 north (Henry Street)	West end of IL 82 overlap
		23.5	37.8	IL 82 south (Oakwood Avenue)	East end of IL 82 overlap
	Annawan	36.9	59.4	IL 78
Bureau	​	45.2	72.7	US 34 west	West end of US 34 overlap
	​	49.0	78.9	IL 40
	Princeton	60.6	97.5	US 34 east / IL 26 north (Main Street)	East end of US 34 overlap; West end of IL 26 overlap
		61.3	98.7	IL 26 south (6th Street)	East end of IL 26 overlap
	​	64.9	104.4	I-180 to I-80 – Hennepin
	​	73.6	118.4	IL 89 north	West end of IL 89 overlap
	​	75.6	121.7	IL 29 west
	Spring Valley	76.8	123.6	IL 89 south (Spaulding Street)	East end of IL 89 overlap
La Salle	Peru	81.0	130.4	IL 251
	La Salle	82.3	132.4	IL 351 south (Joliet Street)	West end of IL 351 overlap
		82.5	132.8	IL 351 north (Joliet Street)	East end of IL 351 overlap
	​	83.8	134.9	I-39 / US 51 – Rockford, Bloomington-Normal	I-39 Exit 57
	​	87.7	141.1	IL 178
	Ottawa	96.8	155.8	IL 23 south / IL 71 west (Columbus Street)	West end of IL 71 overlap
	​	99.0	159.3	IL 71 east	East end of IL 71 overlap
	Seneca	109.7	176.5	IL 170 south (Main Street)
Grundy	Morris	121.7	195.9	IL 47 south (Division Street)	West end of IL 47 overlap
		122.4	197.0	IL 47 north (Division Street)	East end of IL 47 overlap
Will	Channahon	136.2	219.2	I-55 – Chicago, Bloomington	I-55 Exit 248
	Rockdale	140.9	226.8	IL 7 north (Larkin Avenue)
	Joliet	143.2	230.5	US 52 west (McDonough Street)	West end of US 52 overlap
		143.7	231.3	IL 53 / US 52 east (Chicago Street) to I-80	East end of US 52 overlap
		144.9	233.2	US 30 / Lincoln Highway (Cass Street)
		145.1	233.5	IL 171 north (Collins Street)
	New Lenox	150.6	242.4	I-355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway)	I-355 Exit 1
Cook	Orland Park	157.4	253.3	IL 7 (159th Street, Wolf Road)
		159.4	256.5	US 45 (La Grange Road)
	Tinley Park–Orland Park village line	162.4	261.4	IL 43 (Harlem Avenue)
	Oak Forest	165.4	266.2	IL 50 (Cicero Avenue)
	Markham	166.8	268.4	I-57 – Chicago, Kankakee	I-57 Exit 348
		168.3	270.9	I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) – Indiana, Wisconsin
	Harvey	170.6	274.6	IL 1 (Halsted Street)
	South Holland	173.3	278.9	I-94 (Bishop Ford Freeway)	I-94 Exit 73
	Calumet City	174.6	281.0	IL 83 north (Torrence Avenue)	West end of IL 83 overlap
	Lansing	176.2	283.6	I-80 west / I-94 west (Kingery Expressway) / IL 83 south (Torrence Avenue) to I-294	West end of I-80/I-94 overlap; East end of IL 83 overlap; I-80/I-94 Exit 161
Lake	Hammond	178.0	286.5	I-80 east / I-94 east / US 6 east (Borman Expressway) – Indiana, Detroit, Toledo	Continuation into Indiana
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
2. Carlson, Rick (2005-03-15). "Illinois Highways Page: Routes 1-20". Retrieved 2006-05-27.
3. Author unknown (2007-05-13). "Business U.S. Highways 1-29". Retrieved 2007-09-25.
4. Google Maps estimate