Illinois Route 172 is an inverted-'L' shaped highway in northwestern

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 ...

, though it is marked as being a north–south highway on signage. It runs from

Illinois Route 40 Illinois Route 40 (IL 40) is a north–south route in central portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from Interstate 74 (I-74) in East Peoria north to IL 78 at Mt. Carroll, just south of U.S. Route 52 (US 52) and IL 64. Route ...

Illinois Route 92 Illinois Route 92 (IL 92 or Route 92) is an east–west state highway in northwest Illinois. It runs from the Norbert F. Beckey Bridge across the Mississippi River where it meets the eastern end of Iowa Highway 92, east to U.S. Route ...

by way of

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

. This is a distance of . Illinois 172 is also a part of the

Ronald Reagan Trail The Ronald Reagan Trail is a collection of highways in central Illinois that connect villages and cities that were of importance to former United States President Ronald Reagan. The trail was established in 1999 by the Illinois General Assembly, f ...

Route description

Illinois 172 runs north from Illinois 92 through Tampico. It then runs east over a feeder for the

Hennepin Canal The Hennepin Canal State Trail, also just called the Hennepin Canal, is an abandoned waterway in northwest Illinois, between the Mississippi River at Rock Island and the Illinois River near Hennepin. The entire canal is listed on the National ...

to Illinois 40. Illinois 172 is a two-lane surface road for its entire length. It is known as Main Street through Tampico, Tampico Road around Tampico, and Star Road for the east–west portion.

History

SBI Route 172 originally ran from Libertyville to

Gurnee Gurnee ( ) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within the Chicago metropolitan area. Best known for being th ...

; this became ''

Illinois Route 63 Illinois Route 63 (IL 63) was an east–west state highway in the Chicago metropolitan area. At its latest routing, it traveled from Illinois Route 72 (IL 72) in East Dundee to US 41 in Gurnee. Route description At its latest ...

'', and then

Illinois Route 21 Illinois Route 21 (IL 21) is an arterial north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue) in Niles to U.S. Route 41 (Skokie Highway) north of Gurnee. Illinois 21 is 28.13 miles (45.27 ...

. In 1946, Illinois 172 was used on former ''Illinois Route 226'', which in addition to its current route ran west to Prophetstown, forming a 'T'-shaped route. The 'spur' to Prophetstown was dropped in 1974. There have been no changes since.

Major Intersections

References

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172 Year 172 ( CLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 925 '' Ab urbe condita ...

Transportation in Bureau County, Illinois Transportation in Whiteside County, Illinois