U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in the state of

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

, is a surface road that traverses the north central and eastern portions of the state. It runs from the

Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge The Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge, often referred to as the New Savanna-Sabula Bridge, or by the same name as its predecessor, the Savanna-Sabula Bridge, is a steel tied-arch that carries U.S. Route 52 (US 52) across the Mississippi ...

over the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

between Sabula, Iowa, and

Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

with

Illinois Route 64 Illinois Route 64 (IL 64, Illinois 64) is an east–west state highway in Northern Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Iowa state line, connecting with U.S. Route 52 (US 52) and Iowa Highway 64 via the Dale Gardner Veterans Memo ...

(IL 64) southeast to the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

state line near

Sheldon Sheldon may refer to: * Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia * Sheldon, Queensland *Sheldon Forest, New South Wales United Kingdom *Sheldon, Derbyshire, England *Sheldon, Devon, England * ...

with US 24. This is a distance of .

Route description

US 52 travels southeast from the

at the terminus of

Iowa Highway 64 Iowa Highway 64 (Iowa 64) is a state highway that runs through two counties in east central Iowa. It begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 151 (US 151) in Anamosa and ends at the Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Missi ...

(Iowa 64) and IL 64 in

, going through the cities of

Dixon Dixon may refer to: Places International * Dixon Entrance, part of the Inside Passage between Alaska and British Columbia Canada * Dixon, Ontario United States * Dixon, California * Dixon, Illinois * Dixon, Greene County, Indiana * Dixon, Indi ...

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

and Mendota. US 52 then turns due south and then east, crossing

Interstate 39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. I- ...

(I-39) and US 51 near

Troy Grove Troy Grove is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 225 at the 2020 census, down from 250 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Troy Grove is notable as the birthplace ...

. It continues east, traveling through Shorewood and then through the southern portion of Joliet, where it is a major thoroughfare in the city of Joliet (Jefferson Street), avoiding the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

proper. It joins with US 45 through Kankakee, and then travels concurrently with US 24, east of

Watseka Watseka or Watchekee (c. 1810–1878) was a Potawatomi Native American woman, born in Illinois, and named for the heroine of a Potawatomi legend. Her uncle was Tamin, the chief of the Kankakee Potawatomi Indians. She was also known by the ...

to the

state line.

History

In 1936, much of IL 27, IL 44, and IL 69 were replaced by current US 52 as well as portions of IL 2 south of Dixon, IL 49 south of Kankakee, and IL 116 east of L'Erable. Between 1936 and 1940, US 52 originally bypassed Joliet via parts of present-day IL 47 and IL 113. In 1940, US 52 was rerouted through Joliet to Kankakee. Subsequently, IL 44 and IL 69 were entirely decommissioned.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=US, route=52, state=Illinois, stateafter=Indiana, statebefore=Iowa Illinois 52 Transportation in Carroll County, Illinois Transportation in Ogle County, Illinois Transportation in Lee County, Illinois Transportation in LaSalle County, Illinois Transportation in Kendall County, Illinois Transportation in Will County, Illinois Transportation in Kankakee County, Illinois Transportation in Iroquois County, Illinois