Interstate 255 (I-255) is a

bypass route A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety. A bypass spe ...

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on t ...

. Along with

I-270 I-270 may refer to: * Interstate 270 (disambiguation), one of several highways * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 (Design Ж ("Zh") under Mikoyan-Gurevich's in-house designation sequence, USAF/DoD designation: Type 12) was a ...

, it forms a

loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

around the central portion of the bi-state metro area; a majority of I-255 is located on the Illinois half. It shares its southern terminus with I-270 at the junction with I-55; I-270 and I-255 go to the west and east, respectively.

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

(US 50) joins I-255 at Lemay Ferry Road. It crosses 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 ...

on the

Jefferson Barracks Bridge The Jefferson Barracks Bridge, officially the Jefferson Barracks Memorial Arch Bridge, is a pair of bridges across the Mississippi River on the south side of St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Each bridge is long with a long arch bridge span ...

, enters Illinois, and then turns northeast. There is a junction with

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

, where US 50 breaks off and goes east, and then further north there is a junction with I-55 again,

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

, and US 40, all of which are all cosigned together. The next junction is another one with I-270, which is the northern terminus of I-255. After that, the limited-access freeway continues on as

Illinois Route 255 Illinois Route 255 (IL 255), also referred to as the Alton Bypass, is a northwesterly extension of Interstate 255 (I-255) in southwestern Illinois in the St. Louis metropolitan area. IL 255 starts at I-270 in Pontoon Beach and ...

(IL 255). I-255 is in length.

Route description

I-255's counterclockwise terminus is at an interchange with I-55 and I-270 in Mehlville, Missouri. The beltway is designated as I-270 (with

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

as the control city) west of this interchange and as I-255 east (with

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

as the control city) east of this interchange. The section of I-255 east from this interchange to the

was first built in the 1960s to carry US 50 traffic across the Mississippi River. The roadway was upgraded between 2002 and 2004. Repairs included both new pavement and the replacement of the Telegraph Road bridge. Once it crosses the Mississippi River and enters Illinois, I-255 is signed as a north–south highway. It is considerably newer than the Missouri section; it was constructed in the 1980s. At the IL 3 interchange, I-255 turns sharply to the north. It briefly overlaps with IL 3 in Dupo. After Dupo, I-255 turns northeast, skirting

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

and

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 ...

. An interchange at Mousette Lane in Sauget was constructed in the 1990s and provides motorist access to

GCS Ballpark GCS Credit Union Ballpark is a minor league baseball facility in Sauget, Illinois, that serves as the home ballpark for the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. The Grizzlies' ballpark was built in time for the start of the 2002 season, un ...

(home to the

Gateway Grizzlies The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team based in the St. Louis suburb of Sauget, Illinois, in the United States. The Grizzlies are a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, which is a partner league of Major League Base ...

baseball team) and the St. Louis Downtown Airport. Given its proximity to the airport, this section of I-255 features shorter light poles to better accommodate takeoffs and landings. North of Sauget, I-255 traverses a portion of the Frank Holten State Recreation Area before an interchange with

west of Caseyville. This section of freeway opened in 1986. Traffic can enter and exit I-255 at an interchange with Collinsville Road (formerly US 40) just east of the Fairmont Park Racetrack. I-255 meets I-55/I-70 at an interchange in Collinsville, its original intended terminus. North of this interchange, the control city for I-255 changes from "Chicago" to "To I-270". In the 1980s, I-255 was extended approximately north to meet I-270 in Pontoon Beach, its current terminus. While the I-255 designation ends at the I-270 interchange, the freeway continues north and west (parallelling the bend in the Mississippi River) for approximately as IL 255. The decision to not extend the I-255 designation to the new freeway reflects the fact that state and not federal funds were used to pay for construction.

History

I-255 route was proposed from I-55/I-244 near

Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Maryleb ...

to I-55/70 west of

Cahokia Mounds The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

near the intersection with IL 111 when plans surfaced in the 1950s Yellow Book. It was originally designed to be a four lane highway but was changed to six lanes. Since that routing was to go through the American Bottoms, archaeological investigations had to be conducted prior to any construction, which would later become known as the FAI 270 Series. When Cahokia Mounds was designated in the federal register, an alternative alignment for I-255 from I-64 to I-55/70 was selected. This delayed construction of I-255 until the late 1970s, making it the last Interstate Highway in metropolitan St. Louis to be built. Both the western (I-270) and eastern (I-255) portions of the Interstate loop around St. Louis were originally designated as I-270. However, the route that Illinois selected ("Corridor 413") included an interchange in Pontoon Beach between the new beltway (running north and south parallel to the Mississippi River) and the existing beltway (running east and west to a terminus at I-55/I-70). As such, two intersecting Interstate Highways would have carried the same route number.IDOT FAI-270/FAP 413 Draft EIS Volume 1, 1983 As such, the

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...

(IDOT) concluded a different route number would be necessary for the eastern leg of the beltway. While I-870 was initially considered,I-270/870 proposed routes
/ref> informal use of I-255 in contemporary local media coverage led to its widespread adoption. By 1980, IDOT announced that the eastern portion of the St. Louis beltway was to be designated as I-255.

Exit list

References

External links

{{Authority control 55-2 2 55-2 55-2 Roads in Greater St. Louis Transportation in Madison County, Illinois Transportation in Monroe County, Illinois Transportation in St. Clair County, Illinois Transportation in St. Louis County, Missouri