Illinois Route 2 (IL 2) is a north–south state highway in northern

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 ...

. It currently starts at

Illinois Route 40 Illinois Route 40 (IL 40) is a north–south route in central portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from Interstate 74 (I-74) in East Peoria north to IL 78 at Mt. Carroll, just south of U.S. Route 52 (US 52) and IL 64. Route de ...

in Sterling and ends at the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state line in South Beloit, very near the intersection with

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

Illinois Route 75 Illinois Route 75 (IL 75) is an east–west state highway in north-central Illinois. It runs from downtown Freeport at Illinois Route 26 to WIS 67 at the Wisconsin state line southeast of Beloit, Wisconsin. This is a distance of . Route ...

and

Illinois Route 251 Illinois Route 251 is a north–south state highway that runs on the former alignment of U.S. Route 51 before Interstate 39 was built in north central Illinois. It runs from U.S. 51 at the border with Wisconsin to I-39 and U.S. 51 south of Kap ...

.Illinois Highway Ends
Illinois 2
. Retrieved May 2, 2006. Illinois 2 is long.

Route description

Illinois 2 used to follow the Rock River from Rock Island to South Beloit. It was used in the 19th century as a primary trading route from Rockford to Rock Island, The Rock River was not used as a trading route for boats as it is only navigable west of Rock Falls. Illinois 2 has since been superseded by

Interstate 39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. I- ...

and Interstate 88 for most ground transportation, but the original route remains. In Sterling, IL 2 begins as a one-way pair. Near the Sinnissippi Mounds, the two one-way roads merge into a two-way road. From Sterling to Dixon, IL 2 largely follows a portion of

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

but with one exception. Lincoln Highway branches off northeast to

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 second ...

and then back southeast to IL 2 just northwest of Dixon. Just north of Dixon, both routes run concurrently with US 52 and IL 26. They then cross the Rock River to get to downtown. In downtown, IL 2 branches off northeast from the other two routes. At Grand Detour, IL 2 transitions from following the south/east bank of Rock River to the north/west bank via a bridge. Further north, it passes through Castle Rock State Park, IL 64 at the

Ogle County Courthouse The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing in the Ogle County, Illinois, county seat of Oregon. The building stands on a public square in the city's downtown commercial district. The current structure was complet ...

in Oregon, and IL 72 in Byron (runs concurrently with IL 2). North of the

Chicago Rockford International Airport Chicago Rockford International Airport , typically referred to as Rockford International Airport, Chicago Rockford, or by its IATA call letters, RFD, is a commercial airport in Rockford, Illinois, located northwest of Chicago., effective April 2 ...

, IL 2 turns north. At this point, it largely parallels IL 251 for the rest of the route which is east of the river. It then meets US 20 at a diamond interchange (formerly a cloverleaf interchange). As IL 2 gets closer to downtown Rockford, another split occurs. Northbound traffic continues on Main Street, then east on Chestnut Street (US 20 Business), then north on Wyman Street, then west on Park Avenue near the site of

Beattie Park Mound Group The Beattie Park Mound Group is a grouping of Woodland period, Late Woodland period Indian mounds located in downtown Rockford, Illinois, United States. Location The Beattie Park Mound Group is located in downtown Rockford, Illinois' Beattie Pa ...

, and then back north on Main Street before merging. Southbound traffic has to turn west onto John Street, then south on Church Street, and then east on Cedar Street before merging. In Rockton, IL 2 transitions from the west side of the river to the east side again. Further north, IL 75 runs concurrently with IL 2 from Rockton to South Beloit. Before IL 2 transitions into

WIS 213 State Trunk Highway 213 (often called Highway 213, STH-213 or WIS 213) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs north–south in south central Wisconsin from Beloit to Evansville. History WIS 213 was design ...

, IL 75 branches out to the east. Then, IL 2 crosses a railroad crossing and then Turtle Creek. It continues further until it reaches the Wisconsin state line.

History

SBI Route 2 originally ran from South Beloit to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. It followed a part of current IL 2 from South Beloit to Dixon. It then followed south on (roughly) present-day US 52, IL 251, and US 51. In 1935, US 51 supplanted IL 2 south of Mendota. With the appearance of US 52 in 1936, IL 2 was removed south of Dixon. Then, in 1938, IL 2 was briefly extended to

Muscatine, Iowa Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...

, replacing IL 84 and IL 86 in the process. It soon got cut back to Rock Island in 1939 after IL 92 was extended to Muscatine. By the late 1970s, IL 2 was removed west of Sterling as

Illinois Route 5 Illinois Route 5 (IL 5) is a four-lane road in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, that runs from U.S. Route 67 (US 67) in Rock Island to the interchange of Interstate 80 (I-80) and the toll-free portion of I-88, a distance ...

(now I-88 east of I-80) was extended to Rock Island. IL 2, from Sterling to the I-80/I-88 interchange; continued west on W 4th st to Lincoln Hwy where it meets up with State Route 30. The route then split from Route 30 and ran on today's road known as Moline Road which passes through Lyndon, Erie, and ends in Hillsdale. From there the road turns into "RTE 2 and 92" before ending at I-88. This route is visible on the 1948 Illinois Road Map: http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/isl9/id/64/rec/23 IL 2 was designated a

Blue Star Memorial Highway Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World W ...

on November 4, 1970. The sign can be found in a wayside just west of the Winnebago County line in Ogle County along the Rock River.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{ccat-inline

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

Monuments and memorials in Illinois Transportation in Whiteside County, Illinois Transportation in Lee County, Illinois Transportation in Ogle County, Illinois Transportation in Winnebago County, Illinois U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 52