Illinois Route 40

Illinois Route 40 (IL 40) is a 112.05-mile-long (180.33 km) 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.[1]

Illinois Route 40
IL 40 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length	112.05 mi[1] (180.33 km)
Existed	November 5, 1918[2]–present
Major junctions
South end	I-74 / IL 29 in East Peoria
	I-74 in Peoria US 150 in Peoria US 6 / US 34 in Sheffield I-80 in Sheffield I-88 / IL 110 (CKC) in Rock Falls US 30 in Rock Falls
North end	IL 78 in Mount Carroll
Location
Counties	Tazewell, Peoria, Marshall, Stark, Bureau, Whiteside, Carroll
Highway system
Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← US 40 → I-41 ← I-88 → IL 89

Route description

Bob Michel Bridge carrying Illinois Route 40 over the Illinois River.

Illinois 40 is known as Knoxville Avenue in the Peoria area, generally south of Illinois Route 6. Route 40 crosses over Interstate 74 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 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.[3] In 1935, IL 40 got cut back to Mount Carroll in favor of IL 78.[4] By 1938, Illinois Route 88 entirely acquired IL 40 north of Sterling.[5] In 1987, Illinois Route 5, a four-lane freeway which crosses Illinois 40, was designated Interstate 88 east of I-80.[6] As of 1995, IDOT redesignated Illinois 88 as Illinois 40 to prevent confusion.[7] 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, north of IL 90

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

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[8]	km	Destinations	Notes
Tazewell	East Peoria	0.0	0.0	I-74 / IL 29 – Peoria, Bloomington	Southern terminus; I-74 exit 94
		0.3	0.48	Camp Street	Interchange; southbound exit and entrance
		0.4	0.64	W. Washington Street east – East Peoria	Interchange; left entrance northbound, left exits
Illinois River		0.8	1.3	Bob Michel Bridge
Peoria	Peoria	2.5	4.0	I-74 – Galesburg, Bloomington	I-74 exits 92A–B
		4.4	7.1	US 150 (War Memorial Drive)
		9.7	15.6	IL 6 to I-74 / I-474 – Chillicothe	IL 6 exit 6
	​	18.6	29.9	IL 90 west (Truitt Road)
Marshall	​	25.6	41.2	IL 17 east	South end of IL 17 concurrency
Stark	​	30.1	48.4	IL 17 west	North end of IL 17 concurrency
	​	38.1	61.3	IL 93 west
Bureau	​	51.2	82.4	US 6 (Grand Army of the Republic Highway) / US 34 (Walter Payton Memorial Highway)
	​	52.8	85.0	I-80 – Moline, Rock Island, Joliet	I-80 exit 45
	​	64.9	104.4	IL 92
Whiteside	​	73.4	118.1	IL 172 south (Star Road)
	​	78.0	125.5	I-88 / IL 110 (CKC) (Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway) – Moline, Rock Island, Dixon	I-88 exit 41
	Rock Falls	78.9	127.0	US 30 (Rock Falls Rd)
	Sterling	80.6	129.7	IL 2 east / Lincoln Highway (3rd Street, 4th Street)
		80.8	130.0	Lincoln Highway west (5th Street)
Carroll	Mount Carroll	112.05	180.33	IL 78 (Clay Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
2. Carlson, Rick (2006-03-15). "Illinois Highways Page: Routes 21 thru 40". Retrieved 2006-03-28.
3. Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1934). Official Road Map Illinois (Map). [c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000]. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. OCLC 183709045 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
4. Illinois Secretary of State; H.M. Gousha (1935). Official Road Map Illinois (Map). [c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000]. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
5. Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1939). Illinois Road Map (Map) (1939–1940 ed.). c. 1:918,720. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State – via Illinois Digital Archives.
6. Mehler, Neil H. (July 6, 1987). "Road with Many Names Gets a New One". Chicago Tribune.
7. Illinois Department of Transportation (1995). Illinois Highway Map (Map) (1995–1996 ed.). [1:762,500]. Springfield: Illinois Department of Transportation – via Illinois Digital Archives.
8. Google Maps,