Illinois Route 40 (IL 40) is a north–south route in central portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 runs from

Interstate 74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...

(I-74) 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 ...

north to IL 78 at Mt. Carroll, just south of

U.S. Route 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

(US 52) and IL 64.

Route description

Illinois 40 is known as Knoxville Avenue in the Peoria area, generally south of

Illinois Route 6 Illinois Route 6 is a 4-lane freeway entirely in Peoria County in central Illinois. It begins as a northern extension of Interstate 474 at Interstate 74 west of Peoria, and ends at Illinois Route 29 at the 9th Mile in Mossville, south of Chill ...

. Route 40 crosses over

north of downtown, and then grows complex in the downtown area, as there are three turns in a one-block length. Illinois 40 then emerges onto William Kumpf Boulevard and crosses over the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

using the Bob Michel Bridge. On the other side of the river, Illinois 40 is briefly called Washington Street. It then is routed onto an onramp to Interstate 74, where there is an exit to Camp Street before terminating at I-74.

History

Originally, SBI Route 40 ran from Sterling to Stockton. In 1935, IL 40 got cut back to Mount Carroll in favor of IL 78. By 1938, Illinois Route 88 entirely acquired IL 40 north of Sterling. In 1987,

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 ...

, a four-lane

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

which crosses Illinois 40, was designated Interstate 88 east of I-80. As of 1995, IDOT redesignated Illinois 88 as Illinois 40 to prevent confusion. Although the new number is also the number of a Federal Highway that passes through Illinois ( U.S. Route 40), a great enough distance exists between them that the possibility of confusing one for the other is negligible. IL 40 in Peoria County

Prior to 2003, the Illinois 40 exit on I-74 southeast of Peoria was called "Industrial Spur". As part of th
Upgrade 74 Project
the exit was renamed by the Illinois Department of Transportation to Riverfront Drive.

Major intersections

References

{{reflist 040 Transportation in Tazewell County, Illinois Transportation in Peoria County, Illinois Transportation in Marshall County, Illinois Transportation in Stark County, Illinois Transportation in Bureau County, Illinois Transportation in Whiteside County, Illinois Transportation in Carroll County, Illinois