Illinois Route 159 is a north–south state road in southwestern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Its southern terminus is at

Illinois Route 3 Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) is a major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction (about north of Cairo) at the intersection of U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and Illinois Ro ...

and

Illinois Route 154 Illinois Route 154 is an east–west state road in southern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 3 in Red Bud to Illinois Route 37 in Whittington. This is a distance of . Route description Illinois 154 is the main east–west road t ...

in Red Bud and its northern terminus at

Illinois Route 16 Illinois Route 16 (IL 16) is an east–west highway in central Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Joe Page Bridge over the Illinois River in Hardin, while its eastern terminus is at Paris at Illinois Route 1 and U.S. Route 150, with ...

in Royal Lakes. This is a distance of .

Route description

Illinois 159 is a major north–south artery through the eastern portion of the metropolitan

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

area. Illinois 159 overlaps

Illinois Route 143 Illinois Route 143 is an east–west state highway in southwestern Illinois. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 67 (very near, but not at the termini of Illinois Route 100 and Illinois Route 140) in Alton. Its eastern terminus at Illinois ...

in Edwardsville. Widening of a stretch of Illinois 159 to five lanes took place around 2006; the highway is now five lanes from Fairview Heights to Edwardsville, with the exception of downtown Collinsville, where a similar widening project was completed in 2012.

History

SBI Route 159 ran from Red Bud to

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

. In 1964, the Edwardsville to Alton segment was changed to

, and Illinois 159 was run north through Edwardsville to Royal Lakes, replacing '' Illinois Route 112''. This created an unusual 3 way multiplex in downtown Edwardsville where you went north on 157, south on 159, and east on 143 for 2 blocks. This multiplex was not signed, however. In 2003 Illinois 159 was rerouted through Edwardsville, which eliminated that multiplex. An Alternate Illinois Route 159 was proposed by Edwardsville on the old Illinois 159 alignment on Troy Road, but was never implemented.

Major intersections

References

External links

Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 159
{{ccat 159 159 Transportation in Monroe County, Illinois Transportation in St. Clair County, Illinois Transportation in Madison County, Illinois Belleville, Illinois Edwardsville, Illinois Transportation in Randolph County, Illinois Transportation in Macoupin County, Illinois