The Chicago–Kansas City Expressway is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

that runs between

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. The road is known as Route 110 in Missouri and Illinois Route 110 (IL 110) in Illinois. IL 110 was created through legislation on May 27, 2010, as the designated route for the Illinois portion of the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway.

Route description

Missouri

The Expressway starts in downtown Claycomo on

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

and leaves the city in a northeast direction. In Cameron, the route turns east on US 36 and crosses the state via Chillicothe and Macon. East of

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

, the route continues east on

I-72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champa ...

through Hannibal and across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. US 36 and I-35 in Missouri has the same comprehensive sign package similar to Illinois along the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway, including the Route 110 designation and the "CKC" logo on every route marker between Hannibal and Kansas City.

Illinois

IL 110 crosses into Illinois from the

Mark Twain Memorial Bridge The Mark Twain Memorial Bridge is a bridge over the Mississippi River at Hannibal, Missouri, childhood home of Mark Twain, for whom the bridge is named. The bridge, north of the original bridge, was finished in 2000. The bridge carries traff ...

east of Hannibal. It follows

Interstate 72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champa ...

(I-72) east to I-172, then runs north with I-172 to IL 336 around the city of Quincy. Both routes run north to

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

, where IL 110 and IL 336 join with US 136. All three routes run east to Macomb, where IL 110 then continues north with US 67 to

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

. There is a stretch of the route in Good Hope, where it is reduced from a four-lane divided highway to a three-lane undivided street with a center turn lane. At

, IL 110 joins

US 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches an elevati ...

and runs east to

I-74 Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 ...

. IL 110 then joins I-74 and runs north to near the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

, joining with

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

before joining I-88 eastbound. The two highways continue east to I-88's eastern terminus in Hillside, where IL 110 continues on I-290, terminating at the

Jane Byrne Interchange The Jane Byrne Interchange (until 2014, Circle Interchange) is a major freeway Interchange (road), interchange near Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois, known locally as "The Lady in the Middle". It is the junction between the Dan Ryan Exp ...

near the

Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...

History

Cannon Ball Route

The Cannon Ball Route was a historic auto trail that ran from

Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion County, Missouri, Marion and Ralls County, Missouri, Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,108, ...

east-northeast to

. The route was included in the 1917 Map of Marked Routes provided by the Illinois State Highway Department, a precursor to the modern-day

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers f ...

. This highway routing closely parallels the Hannibal-Quincy to Chicago branch of the

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado ...

. This route stayed west and north of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

, so this route never had to cross the limited number of Illinois River bridges in 1917.

Southern Illinois

IL 110 was the designation for what is present-day IL 15 from

St. Libory, Illinois St. Libory or Saint Libory is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 615 at the 2010 census. Geography St. Libory is located at (38.364559, -89.714107). According to the 2010 census, St. Libory has a tot ...

to just south of Addieville, where it meets up with IL 160. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

years, IL 15 was part of what is now IL 160, and the section from St. Libory to Addieville was IL 110. The number was dropped in favor of

US 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is an auxiliary route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent rou ...

; the present IL 15 and IL 160 routings came in the mid-1960s. Raven Road in Washington County is a stub of the former IL 15, and that intersection was the eastern terminus of IL 110.

Current route

Efforts to construct a direct route from Chicago to Kansas City have been in the planning stages since its exclusion from the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

in the 1950s. These efforts have been led by the Tri-State Development Summit, an economic development group for western Illinois, southeastern Iowa, and northern Missouri. The proposed highway took different forms over time: a 1989 study found that a full, limited-access tollway running from

Kansas Turnpike The Kansas Turnpike is a controlled-access toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas citie ...

at Kansas City to the

Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main ...

at Gary or

Tri-State Tollway The Tri-State Tollway is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Originally U.S. Route 41 Toll, it follows: *Interstate 94 in Illinois, Interstate 94 from I-41/US 41 in N ...

near the Joliet area would cost $2–$2.5 billion, if funded entirely by private investors. In a joint resolution between the Illinois

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in late May 2010,, 96th

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

. an expressway project connecting

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-to-

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

was named Illinois Route 110 (IL 110). The path, in total, follows parts of the existing IL 336, I-88, I-172,

, US 136, US 67 and connect the cities of Quincy, Macomb, Galesburg, a number of communities of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

, including Chicago itself on I-290. In 2010, signs were posted with the "CKC" banner above the IL 110 sign. The Illinois Department of Transportation erected 470 IL 110 (CKC) signs at a cost of $94,000.

Future

Plans exist to extend

westward from its current terminus in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

along the existing US 36, but the proposal was shelved for years despite most of the route being a part of the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway. In May 2023, Missouri lawmakers approved a $2.5 million study on the conversion of US 36 into I-72, but in July 2023, the bill was vetoed by Governor

Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th List of governors of Missouri, governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

, who said that it was not the right time to run the study. The extension of I-72 is seen as a way to relieve the pressure off of

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

as well as reduce truck traffic in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. The CKC routing would remain unchanged.

Junction list

References

External links

PDF of the entire route of the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago-Kansas City Expressway

110 110 may refer to: *110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year *110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography * 110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *110 (song), 2019 song by Cap ...