Interstate

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route that branches off a parent numbered highway at its beginning, continues through the central business district of a nearby city or to ...

s are roads connecting a central or commercial district of a city or town with an

Interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

bypass. These roads typically follow along local streets often along a former

U.S. Route 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 h ...

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

that had been replaced by an Interstate. Interstate business route reassurance markers are signed as either loops or spurs using a green

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

shaped sign and numbered like the shield of the parent Interstate highway. Along

Interstate 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 ...

(I-55), there are a total of six business routes, three in both

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, all which are business loops.

New Madrid business loop

Interstate 55 Business (I-55 Bus.) is a major arterial surface street that serves downtown

New Madrid, Missouri New Madrid ( ; ) is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,787 at the 2020 census. New Madrid is the county seat of New Madrid County. The city is located 42 miles (68 km) southwest of Cairo, Illinois, a ...

. It runs north from

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 ...

at exit 44 and the overlap of U.S. Route 61 (US 61)/ US 62 through downtown to exit 49 on I-55. ;Major intersections

Cape Girardeau business loop

Interstate 55 Business (I-55 Bus.) begins at US 61/ Route 74 in Cape Girardeau at exit 93 and ends at US 61 at exit 105 in Fruitland. However, it also crosses its parent Interstate at exit 99

Crystal City business loop

Interstate 55 Business (I-55 Bus.) spans from US 67/ US 61 at exit 174 in Crystal City to McNutt Street at exit 178 in

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

Springfield business loop

Interstate 55 Business (I-55 Bus.) is to a major arterial surface street that serves downtown

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

. It runs north from the intersection of

and

I-72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champa ...

through downtown to

Illinois Route 4 Illinois Route 4 is a major north–south highway that runs south from the Interstate 55 business loop around the state capital of Springfield, south to Illinois Route 13 just north of Murphysboro. This is a distance of . Route description I ...

(IL 4, Veterans' Parkway). It then runs northeast to Sherman. All of I-55 Bus. was part of US 66 at some point. Major intersections

Lincoln business loop

Interstate 55 Business (I-55 Bus.) services the downtown of

Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the U.S. that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became President of the United States, president; he practiced law there from 18 ...

Bloomington–Normal business loop

Interstate 55 Business (I-55 Bus.) in

Bloomington–Normal The Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly known as the Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area or Bloomington–Normal, is a metropolitan statistical area in Central Illinois anchored by the twin municipalities of Bloo ...

is known for its entire length as Veterans Parkway. It is a divided, limited-access highway bypassing the Bloomington–Normal area to the south and east. The route's north–south portion largely passes through a retail core, including Eastland Mall and The Shoppes at College Hills. The highway is also the recommended route from I-39, I-55, and I-74 to

Central Illinois Regional Airport Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington–Normal is a public airport in McLean County, Illinois, three miles east of Bloomington and southeast of Normal. Owned by the Bloomington–Normal Airport Authority, it is also known as Centra ...

via IL 9. Major intersections

References

{{Reflist Interstate 55 55