Interstate 180 (I-180) is a north–south spur highway in Illinois that runs from

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

to the small town of Hennepin at its southern terminus. It is long.

Route description

Interstate 180, Near Hennepin, Illinois (9179327039)

I-180 begins as a continuation of

Illinois Route 71 Illinois Route 71 is a southwest-to-northeast state highway in north central Illinois. It runs from the end of Interstate 180 in Hennepin to U.S. Route 34 in Oswego. This is a distance of . Route description Outside of Hennepin, the road s ...

(IL 71) at a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with IL 26 northeast of Hennepin. The interchange is located adjacent to a former steel mill that was most recently operated by

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second larg ...

but closed in 2009 and demolished in 2017. The freeway travels northwest, carrying I-180 and IL 26 in a

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

, and crosses the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

on the north side of Hennepin to enter Bureau County. On the west side of the river, IL 26 separates from I-180 and the freeway crosses over IL 29 before splitting at a

Y interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

. I-180 turns north, intersecting an expressway that connects to IL 29, and travels northeast across

Big Bureau Creek The Big Bureau Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River in north central Illinois. It rises approximately north of Mendot ...

to intersect IL 26. The freeway intersects US Route 6 (US 6) east of

and continues due north to its terminus, a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with

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

. I-180 has four lanes for most of its length, though an additional southbound lane exists prior to the IL 29 exit.

History

Construction of I-180 was completed in 1969. The freeway was built primarily to connect

to a new

Jones and Laughlin Steel Company The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation began as the American Iron Company, founded in 1852 by Bernard Lauth and Benjamin Franklin Jones, a few miles (c 4 km) south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. Lauth's interest was bought in ...

steel plant built in 1965 in Hennepin. However, the steel plant closed soon after I-180 was built and did not reopen until August 2002. Federal auditors criticized its construction and called it a political favor that was put ahead of requests from

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. I-180 is one of the least traveled Interstates in the nation, serving 1,950–3,600 vehicles per day . In recent years, work started to reconstruct the bridge carrying I-180 over the Illinois River.

Exit list

References

External links

Interstate 180
at Kurumi's Roads Pag
I-180
at Illinois Highway Ends

at Roads of the Mid-South and West {{authority control 80-1 80-1 Illinois 1 Illinois Transportation in Putnam County, Illinois Transportation in Bureau County, Illinois