U.S. Route 40 (US 40) runs east–west across south central

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 ...

for . US 40 enters the state from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

across the Poplar Street Bridge 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 ...

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

concurrent with Interstate 55 (I-55) and I-64 and exits just south of State Line, Indiana, running concurrently with I-70. For the majority of its route through Illinois, US 40 follows the National Road, including the route's initial western terminus at Vandalia. For nearly its entire route, US 40 is two-lane and rural, with the exception of portions in and around major towns and cities. For its entire length, US 40 closely aligns with I-70. Not only does the route intersect with the Interstate six times, but also has three concurrencies with the highway; both highways exit into Indiana on the same road.

Route description

East St. Louis to Highland

Starting from the Poplar Street Bridge, US 40, as well as I-55 and I-64, enters East St. Louis. Just east of the bridge, the three routes run concurrently with IL 3 as well as the Great River Road. After a series of interchanges, both I-64 and IL 3 branches off while I-70 joins the I-55/US 40 concurrencies. From then on, they meet IL 203 at a combination interchange, IL 111 at a diamond interchange, Black Lane at an incomplete interchange, I-255 at another combination interchange, IL 157 at a parclo interchange, and IL 159 at a cloverleaf interchange. At a trumpet interchange from the Missouri state line, US 40 branches off from I-55 and I-70. From then on, it meets IL 162 and then IL 4 at a one-quadrant interchange.

Highland to Vandalia

Starting at Highland, US 40 runs concurrently with IL 143. Then, at the roundabout, IL 160 joins the concurrency. IL 160 soon leaves the concurrency around a mile east of the roundabout. IL 143 then also leaves US 40. US 40 then joins I-70 again from exit 30 to the next exit, exit 36. After US 40 leaves I-70, it parallels I-70 for most of the length through Illinois. At a parclo interchange on exit 41 for I-70, US 40 turns south and then east from the northern part of the interchange. It then meets IL 127 at Greenville, IL 140 east of Mulberry Grove, and I-70 at another diamond interchange (exit 61).

Vandalia to Indiana state line

In Vandalia, IL 185 joins US 40 eastward. Then, the two routes run concurrently with US 51 all the way to downtown. US 51 then leaves the concurrency of two routes. Then, IL 185 also leaves from US 40 just west of another diamond interchange of I-70 (exit 68). IL 128 joins US 40 up to Altamont where IL 128 branches south to I-70. As US 40 reaches Effingham, it briefly bends north until it reaches the intersection of US 40/IL 32/IL 33. At that point, only IL 33 carries on eastward with US 40. At downtown Effingham, US 45 briefly joins from the south and then leaves northward. Soon, IL 33 branches off eastward. From then on, US 40 intersects IL 130, IL 49, and IL 1. US 40 then joins I-70 at another diamond interchange for the third time as the two are about to enter Indiana.

History

Up until 1935, Illinois Route 11 (IL 11) roughly followed the old alignment of US 40 from St. Louis to near

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

. After 1935, IL 11 was decommissioned. But in the mid-1940s, IL 11 was reused after US 40 was realigned south of downtown Greenville and

Mulberry Grove, Illinois Mulberry Grove is a village in eastern Bond County, Illinois, United States. The population was 520 at the 2020 census. History Mulberry Grove has existed under the names Bucktown, Houston and Shakerag. A post office was established in 1834, and ...

. In 1947, IL 11 was extended to Vandalia via US 40's old alignment after US 40 bypassed Hagarstown. It followed a part of the original alignment of US 40 between

IL 127 Illinois Route 127 is a north–south highway in central and southern Illinois. Its southern terminus is at Illinois Route 3 near Olive Branch and its northern terminus at Interstate 55, along with the southern terminus of Illinois Route 48 in ...

in Greenville and US 51 in Vandalia. By 1948, IL 11 was partially replaced by US 40 Alternate; later acquired by IL 140 in 1967.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{US 40 Illinois Transportation in St. Clair County, Illinois Transportation in Madison County, Illinois Transportation in Bond County, Illinois Transportation in Fayette County, Illinois Transportation in Effingham County, Illinois Transportation in Cumberland County, Illinois Transportation in Clark County, Illinois 40