Interstate 72 in Illinois

Infobox road
state=IL
route=72
type=Interstate
alternate_name=Central Illinois Expresswaycite news |title=Road to the top? Designation puts expressway in the 'big leagues' |author=Schoenburg, Bernard |date=1995-04-28 |publisher=The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:SJRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB1485776342992&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2]

---

maint = IDOT
length_mi=182.56
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]
established=2000
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
terminus_a= state line
terminus_b= Country Fair Drive in Champaign
junction= jct|state=IL|I|172 in Fall Creek
jct|state=IL|I|55 in Springfield
jct|state=IL|I|57 in Champaign
previous_type=IL
previous_route=71
next_type=IL
next_route=72

In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 72 (abbreviated I-72) is an east-west Interstate highway that runs from the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River with U.S. Route 36 east to the city limits of Champaign. This is a distance of convert|182.56|mi|km|2. The portion of I-72 and Interstate 172 (abbreviated I-172) from Quincy to Springfield, Illinois is commonly referred to by its former name, the Central Illinois Expressway (abbreviated CIE).

Route description

in rural west-central Illinois. At mile marker 78, a sign marks 90 degrees longitude.

At its eastern terminus in Champaign, I-72 continues as Church Street (westbound) and University Avenue (eastbound), which stay as one-way streets for an additional 3 miles into downtown Champaign.

History

Until the mid-1990s, I-72 ran from Springfield at Interstate 55 to Champaign at Interstate 57. On June 9, 1991, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the establishment of Interstate 172 from the western terminus of I-72 at Springfield to Fall Creek, 4 miles east of Hannibal, Missouri, though it was contingent on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval. The FHWA preferred to designate the route I-72.cite web |url=http://cms.transportation.org/sites/route/docs/1991-USRN_Cmte.PDF |title=Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Executive Committee |author=American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |date=1991-06-09 |accessdate=2007-12-19] cite web|url=http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-172_il.html|publisher=Interstate-Guide.com|title=Interstate 172 Illinois]

After discussions regarding extending an Interstate-standard highway through the state of Missouri, on April 22, 1995, AASTHO approved another renumbering. I-172 was renumbered in its entirety as I-72. The U.S. 36 extension west of Fall Creek was also given the I-72 designation. The Illinois Route 336 expressway was renumbered to I-172 from Fall Creek to Fowler.cite web |url=http://cms.transportation.org/sites/route/docs/1995-USRN_Cmte.pdf |title=Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Standing Committee on Highways |date=1995-04-23 |accessdate=2007-12-19 |author=American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials] Once the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was completed in September 2000, I-72 was extended to its current western terminus at U.S. Route 61 in Hannibal, Missouri.

Exit list

References