U.S. Route 40 in Illinois

Infobox_road
highway_name=U.S. Route 40
marker_

alternate_name=National Road
length_mi=159.99
length_round=2
length_ref=cite web |author=Illinois Technology Transfer Center |url=http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html |title=T2 GIS Data |accessdate=2007-11-08 |date=2006]
direction=East-west
starting_terminus=Mississippi River at East St. Louis
ending_terminus=Indiana state line in Illiana
cities=East St. Louis, Highland, Greenville, Vandalia, Effingham
established=1926
system=U.S. Highway system
previous_route=39
previous_type=Interstate
next_route=40
next_type=IL
state=IL

In the U.S. state of Illinois, U.S. Route 40 runs from the Poplar Street Bridge in East St. Louis with Interstates 55, 64 and Interstate 70 east to Illiana with I-70 at the Indiana state line. Except where the route has been re-aligned with Interstate 70, it is an entirely undivided surface route. U.S. 40 in Illinois is convert|159.99|mi|km|2 long.

Formerly a major highway, it has lost most of its non-local traffic to Interstate 70. Unlike the defunct US 66, which has largely become local highways, it remains numbered as a US route.

Some early bypasses of towns were built with the apparent intention of twinning them as a divided highway with access limited to intersections. I-70 uses none of those old bypasses that remain as sections of US 40.

Should Illinois ever de-commission US 40, the highway will be designated as Illinois 11.Fact|date=September 2007

The westernmost portion of the historic National Road lies on most of the U.S. 40 alignment in Illinois.

References