U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original

United States highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

s of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Michigan at an intersection with

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

, and its western terminus is near

Minturn, Colorado Minturn is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,027 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Minturn is located in southeastern Eagle County on the Eagle River between the resort comm ...

at an intersection with

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 c ...

. The highway transitions from north–south to east–west signage at the Ohio-Michigan state line.

Route description

Colorado

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, US 24 begins at the interchange of I-70 and US 6 (Exit 171) near Minturn. From this interchange, US 24 proceeds southeast through Minturn and continues south to the Continental Divide at Tennessee Pass. It continues south to Johnson Village and then joins with US 285 northbound to the

Trout Creek Pass Trout Creek Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass located in the Rocky Mountains of south-central Colorado in the United States. The pass sits atop the southern end of the Mosquito Range on the Park- Chaffee county line, between South Park (th ...

. After the pass, US 24 separates from US 285 and continues east to

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and then northeast to Limon, where US 24 joins I-70 for most of the rest of its routing to the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

state line. When the United States Highway System was started in 1926, US 24 in Colorado was designated US 40S. It began in Grand Junction and went east along the current I-70 corridor to Minturn, from which it follows the current route to Limon. From Limon east to the Kansas border, the current US 24 was designated US 40N. US 40S west of Limon and US 40N east of Limon received the US 24 designation in 1936, when US 24 was extended west from Kansas City, Missouri. The segment between Grand Junction and Minturn was decommissioned in 1975.

Kansas

, US 24 enters from Colorado west of Kanorado; it overlaps I-70 for to Colby. US 24 does not meet I-70 again until Kansas City. On December 1, 2008, US 24 was rerouted southward on US 73 to I-70 west of Kansas City, continuing east on I-70 on the final in Kansas. US 24 serves

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, as well as the northern sides of

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

and

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. The original designation for the current US 24 route in Kansas was US 40N. It went from the Colorado border to Manhattan. In 1936, US 24 received its current designation after an extension west from Kansas City. In Kansas, US 24 is merged with US 59 from Williamstown to a place in North

called Teepee Junction. From there it is merged with US 40 until Kansas City.

Missouri

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, US 24 serves Kansas City,

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, Buckner, Lexington, Waverly, Carrollton, Keytesville, Moberly,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Monroe City,

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

and West Quincy. It runs concurrently with US 65 between Waverly and Carrollton, passing over the Missouri River via the Waverly Bridge when concurrent. After becoming a two-lane road, it is then concurrent with Route 5 in Keytesville (where it is called Jackson Street), and then passes by the city of Huntsville before turning into a four-lane highway and crossing US 63 at Moberly. It is finally concurrent (for the third time) with US 36 east of Monroe City and with US 61 from south of

to West Quincy. The segment shared with US 61 is part of the

Avenue of the Saints The Avenue of the Saints is a highway in the Midwestern United States that connects St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota. Route description Missouri The southern end of the Avenue of the Saints is at exit 28A of Interstate 64 (I‑64) ...

. Along the route within Independence is the

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and resting place of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States (1945–1953), his wife Bess and daughter Margaret, and is located on U.S. Highwa ...

Illinois

Crossing into

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 ...

, US 24 uses the pairing of the cable-stayed Quincy Bayview Bridge (westbound) and the older Quincy Memorial Bridge (eastbound) 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 fl ...

in Quincy. , it is the main arterial highway from Quincy northeast to Peoria. Between these two cities, the highway follows the old Peoria to Quincy stage coach route. US 24 travels onto the Shade–Lohmann Bridge on I-474 to bypass Peoria, and it gets off at exit 9. In

East Peoria 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 Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

, US 24 forms a

wrong-way concurrency A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurr ...

with IL 116 and

US 150 U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Route description I ...

as it parallels the Illinois River. From East Peoria, US 24 runs directly east (parallel to

Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Lo ...

) through a number of small towns en route to

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 ...

. US 24 crosses into Indiana at the state line east of Sheldon.

Indiana

, US 24 runs east from the

state line to Huntington. At Huntington, US 24 turns northeast and runs to Fort Wayne; it then overlaps

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

and I-469 to bypass the city before entering

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

at the state line east of Fort Wayne. The segment of US 24 between Logansport and

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

is part of the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor project of the

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, pronounced ''Ice-Tea'') is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in ...

Ohio

From Fort Wayne, US 24 follows the path of the Maumee River towards Toledo. In

, the roadway enters the state east of

Woodburn, Indiana Woodburn is a city in Maumee Township, Allen County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,520 at the 2010 census, making it the smallest in state as Cannelton had a population of 1,563 in the 2010 Census. Geography Woodburn is located a ...

, near Antwerp. Between the Indiana state line and Toledo, this portion of the roadway is known as the Fort to Port segment of the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor. Between Napoleon and Toledo, modern US 24 lies north of the Maumee River as a highway built to Interstate Highway standards. Just north of Waterville is the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers of 1794. General Anthony Wayne after, constructing a trail from Fort Wayne to (Fort) Defiance, fought and defeated a Native American consortium, thus opening northern Ohio to white settlement. At a point on the Toledo's north side US 24 veers from northeast–southwest to true north–south, turning on to Telegraph Road, while Detroit Avenue continues as a city street that connects to M-125 (Dixie Highway) at the Michigan border. The path through Toledo of US 24 follows the course of old US 25, old US 25 being farther away from the course of north–south I-75. Partially truncated as a state route, what had been US 24 was renumbered as

Ohio State Route 25 State Route 25 (SR 25) is an Ohio state route that runs between Cygnet and Toledo in the US state of Ohio. The highway has a total length of . Some of the highway is listed on the National Highway System and various sections are rural fo ...

where it remained a state highway, and US 25 in greater Toledo became US 24.

Michigan

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, US 24 enters from

and serves the city of Monroe and the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Metro Area, where it is known as Telegraph Road. It continues north through the western edge of Detroit. It passes through Michigan's "mixing bowl", which is where I-696 (Walter P. Reuther Freeway), M-10 (John C. Lodge Freeway/Northwestern Highway), and Lahser Road intersect. US 24 continues north along Telegraph Road as the border between

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

until its intersection with Dixie Highway where it travels to the northwest until its termination at

Independence Township, Michigan Independence Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 36,686 at the 2020 census. Independence Township was first organized in 1834. The township surrounds the city of Clarkston, but th ...

History

Between

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network of ...

in Pontiac, Michigan, and Laskey Road in

, the highway is known as Telegraph Road, named before the highway system existed after the telegraph wires to which it once ran parallel.

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

of the rock band Dire Straits wrote the song " Telegraph Road" about the development and decay of the road, which he spotted en route to a concert. It is a major surface route through western areas of

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

. US 24 (Telegraph Road) along the west edge of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

was one of the first roads where

Michigan left A Michigan left or P-turn is an at-grade intersection design that replaces each left (farside) turn at an intersection between a (major) divided roadway and a secondary (minor) roadway with the combination of a right (nearside) turn followe ...

turns were implemented. This pattern was introduced at the time of, or soon after, its widening to a six- to eight-lane divided highway between 1960 and 1963. Several other channelization techniques are also used; for instance, the M-153 (Ford Road) intersection includes a southbound

jughandle A jughandle is a type of ramp or slip road that changes the way traffic turns left at an at-grade intersection (in a country where traffic drives on the right). Instead of a standard left turn being made from the left lane, left-turning traffic ...

and a cutoff for northbound left-turning traffic. US 24 from Minturn, Colorado to

Limon, Colorado Limon is a statutory town that is the most populous municipality in Lincoln County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,880 at the 2010 United States Census. Limon has been called the "Hub City" of Eastern Colorado because Interst ...

is a former route of US 40S. Between Limon and

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...

, US 24 follows the old route of US 40N. US 24 followed State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas until December 1, 2008, when it was rerouted onto K-7 and

. As Michigan enacted alcohol prohibition earlier than Ohio, for a time this road was notorious for its use by bootleggers, bringing booze from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

into Detroit. From 2008 to 2012, US 24 from Fort Wayne to Toledo was mostly expanded to Interstate Standards as part of an overall "Fort to Port" project, in reference to Fort Wayne and the port of Toledo.U.S. 24 Proposed Pedestrian Bridge Upgraded to Interchange and Design Work Pending for S.R. 14 Adjacent to Inverness Pond, INDOT Press Release, August 7, 2009
/ref> As of 2018, US 24 has been moved to follow I-435 south and I-70 west in Kansas City, Missouri; the original US 24 that used to follow Independence Avenue is now a business route of US 24.

Major intersections

;Colorado : northwest of Minturn : in Johnson Village. The highways travel concurrently to Antero Junction. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Limon. The highways travel concurrently to east of Limon. : in Limon : east of Limon. The highways travel concurrently to Seibert. : in Burlington. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Burlington. The highways travel concurrently to south-southwest of Levant, Kansas. ;Kansas : south-southeast of Gem : in Hill City : in Stockton : in Osborne. The highways travel concurrently to south of Portis. : east of Glasco : in Riley. The highways travel concurrently to east of Riley. : in

: in Williamstown. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in

. US 24/US 40 travel concurrently to Kansas City, Missouri. : on the Kansas City–

Bonner Springs Bonner Springs is a city in Wyandotte, Leavenworth, and Johnson counties, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,837. Bonner Springs was incorporated as ...

city line. The highways travel concurrently into Bonner Springs proper. : in Bonner Springs. I-70/US 24 travel concurrently to Kansas City, Missouri. : on the Kansas City– Edwardsville city line : in Kansas City : in Kansas City. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Kansas City : in Kansas City. US 24/US 169 travel concurrently to Kansas City, Missouri. ;Missouri : in Kansas City. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Kansas City : in Kansas City : east of Waverly. The highways travel concurrently to Carrollton. : in Moberly : in Monroe City. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Rensselaer. : south of

. The highways travel concurrently to

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

. ;Illinois : south of Bloomfield : in Rushville : northeast of Beaty. The highways travel concurrently to Duncan Mills. : on the Peoria– Bartonville line. I-474/US 24 travel concurrently to Creve Coeur. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in East Peoria : in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

: in

Chenoa María Laura Corradini Falomir (born June 25, 1975, in Mar del Plata, Argentina) popularly known as Chenoa, is an Argentine-Spanish music artist who rose to fame as a contestant on reality television singing competition ''Operación Triunfo''. H ...

: in Gilman : in Gilman. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Sheldon. The highways travel concurrently to

Kentland, Indiana Kentland is a town in Jefferson Township, Newton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,641 at the 2020 census. History The town was founded in 1860 as "Kent", though this name was soon lengthened to Kentland. The name honors ...

. ;Indiana : in Kentland : in

Remington Remington may refer to: Organizations * Remington Arms, American firearms manufacturer * Remington Rand, American computer manufacturer * Remington Products, American manufacturer of shavers and haircare products * Remington College, American c ...

. The highways travel concurrently to Wolcott. : east of Remington : in

Reynolds Reynolds may refer to: Places Australia *Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia *Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia United States * Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...

. The highways travel concurrently to

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. : west of Logansport. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Logansport. : in Peru Township : in Huntington : in Fort Wayne. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Fort Wayne. US 24/US 30 travel concurrently to east of

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

. : in Fort Wayne : in Fort Wayne. I-469/US 24 travel concurrently to east of

. ;Ohio : in Emerald Township : in Napoleon Township. The highways travel concurrently to Liberty Township. : in Maumee : in Maumee. : in Toledo ;Michigan : in Ash Township : in

: in Dearborn : in Redford Charter Township : in Southfield : in Springfield Township

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 24Maumee Valley Heritage CorridorMichigan US-24 endpoint photosIllinois Highway Ends: US-24Indiana Highway Ends: US-24Live webcam view of US Hwy 24 from Woodland Park, ColoradoUS24 Fort to Port Project
Interstate 70 24 024 Ronald Reagan Trail 24