U.S. Route 66 in Illinois

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 66 in Illinois. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 66.
U.S. Route 66 marker
U.S. Route 66
Will Rogers Highway
Main Street of America
Map
Route 66 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length301 mi (484 km)
ExistedNovember 11, 1926 (1926-11-11)–June 25, 1974 (1974-06-25)[1]
Major junctions
West end US 66 at the Mississippi River towards St. Louis, MO
Major intersections
East end US 41 in Chicago
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
Highway system
← IL 65→ US 67
An abandoned early Route 66 alignment in central Illinois in 2006

U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) was a United States Numbered Highway in Illinois that connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, the Mother Road or Main Street of America, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago to Southern California. The highway had previously been Illinois Route 4 (IL 4) and the road has now been largely replaced with Interstate 55 (I-55). Parts of the road still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  1. ^ U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (June 25, 1974). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 7 – via Wikisource.