U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) was a United States Numbered Highway in Illinois that connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, known as the Mother Road or Main Street of America, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago to Southern California. The highway had previously been Illinois Route 4 (IL 4) and the road has now been largely replaced with Interstate 55 (I-55). Parts of the road still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
When US 66—first known as the Main Street of America and later dubbed the Mother Road by novelist John Steinbeck in 1939—was designated on November 11, 1926, the original path used mostly pre-existing roads. It was meant to minimize any needed construction and to get the entire path of the route open to traffic as soon as possible. In fact, because Illinois had already paved most of the roads that would comprise US 66, Illinois was the first of the eight states through which the route ran to have its segment of US 66 completed at a time when much of Route 66 was still a gravel-and-dirt road.
In Illinois and the Midwest in general, the construction of US 66 was important to the economies of small, rural towns, which saw a burst of activity when the road finally passed through. However, those communities in Illinois were already profiting from a paved highway that preceded Route 66 by a few years. In 1916, the Federal Aid Post Road Act, known as the Shackleford Bill, passed Congress and appropriated $75 million to be distributed to the states over the next five years. Funding was provided on an ongoing basis, over the period of five years, and the law made the federal government an active partner in road building for the first time. Five roads in Illinois were designated to receive federal money under the legislation; they were: the National Old Trails Road (National Road, present-day US 40), Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway, Sheridan Road from Chicago to Waukegan, and the road from Chicago to East St. Louis, including portions of IL 4, which was the actual predecessor to US 66 in Illinois.
The earliest known Chicago-to-St. Louis road was a former Native American Indian trail and stagecoach road that was renamed the Pontiac Trail in 1915. Route 66 began in Chicago and, once outside the metropolitan Chicago area, traveled down the Pontiac Trail through many cities and towns on its way southwest, including Joliet, Odell, Bloomington, Lincoln, Springfield, Edwardsville and East St. Louis.
IL 4 coincided with most of the Pontiac Trail and closely paralleled the Chicago and Alton Railroad tracks running from Chicago to East St. Louis. The roadbed for IL 4 was prepared in 1922 by teams of horses dragging equipment behind them. Laborers received 40 cents per hour for performing backbreaking labor on the roadbed. In 1923 in Bloomington-Normal, concrete was poured along the road's path along much the same route US 66 would take on its original route through the area. By 1924, IL 4 was almost entirely paved between Chicago and St. Louis. Construction on the few remaining parts of US 66 in Illinois began in 1926.
By the 1930s, US 66 extended from Chicago through Springfield to St. Louis; much of the original pavement was still in use by the early 1940s. The dangers of the original pavement were recognized by the nickname "Bloody 66," which reflected the frequently deadly road accidents along the mostly rural route. When World War II erupted, Route 66—already the heaviest trafficked highway in Illinois—saw an increase in military traffic and importance to defense strategy. The aging road's deterioration was hastened by the increase in military truck traffic. The Defense Highway Act of 1941 provided Illinois with about $400,000 in funding, and by 1942, plans were in place to make much needed road repairs that were also intended in part to make the road safer for traffic.
Route description
St. Louis to Hamel
Entering Illinois from St. Louis, Missouri, the highway originally crossed the Mississippi River at the McKinley Bridge. This first alignment passed through Venice and Madison, eventually becoming IL 203 in northeast Granite City. In 1930, the Chain of Rocks Bridge was opened on Bypass US 66, allowing travelers to circumvent St. Louis. This route met the original Route 66 in Mitchell. The Luna Cafe, Bel-Air Drive-In sign, and the Old Greenway Motel can be found along this stretch of road, as well as The Mustang Corral, a Ford Mustang shop, just before IL 157 on the right hand side eastbound. Route 66 joined IL 157 through Hamel via Edwardsville.
Congestion at the McKinley Bridge was reduced in 1951 with the construction of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge. Route 66 joined US 40, traversing East St. Louis and Fairmont City. Shortly after Fairmont City, Route 66 passed Cahokia Mounds, later a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It joined IL 157 on the western end of Collinsville, later navigating to modern day I-55 via IL 159. This stretch of Route 66 met the main route in Hamel.
Poplar Street Bridge was opened in 1967 to facilitate I-55, I-64, and I-70. US 66 and US 40 were both simultaneously rerouted over this newer bridge instead of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge.
Hamel to Springfield
Original route
U.S. Route 66 originally followed IL 4 north of Hamel. This alignment navigated through Staunton, Sawyerville, Benld, Gillespie, and Carlinville to Nilwood. The section of US 66/IL 4 from Nilwood to Girard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 2002. Route 66 continues along IL 4 north through Virden, Thayer, to Auburn. A section of IL 4 north of Auburn and south of Springfield, which was also part of the original span of US 66, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 6, 1998. This is the last brick alignment in Illinois. Route 66 then passed through Chatham, and entered Springfield. Breaking off of IL 4, the route passed the Illinois State Capitol and the Old State Capitol.
Eastern alternate route
An alternate route northward from Hamel was opened in 1930. It followed IL 4 for , then branched off to the east, bypassing Staunton. The road moved northeast through Mount Olive past the Soulsby Service Station. The alignment from Litchfield to Mount Olive was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 2001. This segment is a stretch that begins northwest of Mount Olive in southeastern Macoupin County and ends about north of the intersection of US 66 and IL 16 in Litchfield. This alignment passed through North Litchfield, South Litchfield, Cahokia, and Mount Olive townships. The terrain through the area is mostly flat. Unlike other sections of Route 66 in Illinois that are listed on the National Register, the segment from Litchfield to Mount Olive does not include any contributing structures such as bridges or culverts. The Ariston Café in Litchfield is the longest-operating restaurant along the former US 66. The Belvidere Café, Motel, and Gas Station also provided services to travelers. This alternate alignment continued north past Waggoner, Farmersville, Divernon, Glenarm, and Cotton Hill, and joined the original path in Springfield near the Old Capitol Building.
The increased military traffic along US 66 during World War II and the consequent extreme demands put on the road bed caused parts of the road to be replaced along this stretch during the 1940s. This stretch of US 66 became a four-lane road with two lanes in each direction; the new lanes became the southbound lanes. For south of Litchfield, the southbound lanes still carry two-way traffic. A new alignment of Route 66 headed northeast of Hamel through Livingston. This new section bypassed Mount Olive to the northeast, later running west of the old route through Litchfield before rejoining the original path. Sections of the older alternate route were destroyed during the 1930s when Lake Springfield was created; the fragments of the old route that remain were added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 2009.
Springfield to Gardner
From Springfield to Gardner, Historic US 66 is now a parallel frontage road for I-55, except for business loops for Lincoln and the Bloomington-Normal area. US 66 originally continued north through Springfield past the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the Lazy A Motel. The route rejoined IL 4 and continued alongside Carpenter Park; a small section of this route is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2002. Route 66 continued north through Sherman and Broadwell, entering Lincoln. From there, the route veered northeast through the towns of Lawndale, Atlanta, McLean, Funk's Grove, and Shirley. McLean is home to the famous Dixie Travel Plaza, a truck stop that was established as the Dixie Truckers Home in 1928. To the north is Funks Grove, settled by the Funk family in 1824 where pure "maple sirup"That spelling is particular to the area. is made.
From there, Route 66 entered Bloomington, passing through the Central Business District and the McLean County Square. Further north as Bloomington gave way to Normal, the route passed Illinois State Normal University. From Normal, Route 66 continued northeast through Towanda, where there is now a parkway and bike trail along a stretch of the abandoned highway, with exhibits that highlight all eight states through which Route 66 travels. There are also classic "Burma Shave" signs displayed along the trail.
Route 66 traveled through Lexington and Chenoa to Pontiac. Passing by the Illinois State Police Office, the route continued northeast through Cayuga and Odell to Dwight. A restored Standard Oil Gasoline Station still stands in Odell, as does Ambler's Texaco Gas Station in Dwight.
The stretch from Cayuga to Chenoa was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 2007. This section of US 66 was commissioned in 1926. The road segment travels from the northeast to the southwest and begins in the southeast corner of Odell Township in Livingston County and ends in the northwest corner of Chenoa Township in McLean County. US 66 passes through Odell, Esmen, Pontiac, Eppards Point, and Pike townships, on its stretch from Cayuga to Chenoa. The road is paralleled on its east by the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and on its west by I-55. Portions of the northbound and southbound lanes still carry traffic; in spots where one of the sections is still in use the other section is abandoned but still extant.
Along this stretch of highway, there are 14 structures and buildings. Insofar as the National Register and historic preservation are concerned, eight of those are considered contributing structures to the listing and six are considered non-contributing. There are also 12 highway bridges found along the segment and a box culvert; six of the bridges are considered contributing to the National Register listing, as is the box culvert. Six of the bridges have been replaced since the historic period, and all of the bridges are constructed from concrete. The bridges have various lengths and support structure. The box culvert along the segment of road measures by wide and was built as part of the road's foundation. This particular box culvert, like many, usually went unnoticed by travelers along the road. The section of pavement between Pontiac and Cayuga was part of a larger section of the roadway that began north of Cayuga in Gardner. This entire section was built in 1943 after large parts of Route 66 became badly deteriorated during the mid-1940s. The portion of the roadway that extended south of Pontiac to the newly constructed bypass at the Bloomington-Normal area was constructed during the early 1940s.
Gardner to Welco Corners The route again split as it entered Gardner. These three alignments reunited at Welco Corners, which is located in present-day Bolingbrook.