Illinois Route 17 (IL 17) is a rural, arterial east–west state highway that runs east from a former ferry crossing in New Boston along the banks of the Mississippi River[3] to State Road 2 west of Lowell, Indiana. It is 209.40 miles (337.00 km) long.[1]

Illinois Route 17 marker
Illinois Route 17
Map
IL 17 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length209.40 mi[1] (337.00 km)
ExistedNovember 5, 1918[2]–present
Major junctions
West end1st Street in New Boston
Major intersections US 67 in Viola
US 150 in Alpha

I-74 / IL 110 (CKC) in Woodhull
US 34 in Bishop Hill
US 34 in Galva
I-39 / US 51 in Wenona
I-55 in Dwight
US 45 / US 52 in Kankakee
I-57 in Kankakee
East end SR 2 in Grant Park
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountiesMercer, Henry, Knox, Stark, Marshall, LaSalle, Livingston, Grundy, Kankakee
Highway system
IL 16 IL 18

Route description

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IL 1 and IL 17 at their concurrency in Grant Park

Illinois 17 is the main street for numerous small towns in west central and central Illinois. It crosses the Illinois River at Lacon, and passes through Dwight and Kankakee, before it joins with Illinois Route 1 and enters Indiana east of Grant Park.

Illinois 17 also overlaps with U.S. Route 34, Illinois Route 251 (old U.S. Route 51), and Illinois Route 40 south of Wyoming. It also crosses the Kankakee River at Kankakee, IL. The route is largely a 2 lane road except through towns, where it occasionally becomes a 2 lane road with a center turn lane. East of Kankakee, Illinois 17 becomes a 4-lane divided highway.

 
IL 17 at junction with IL 47 in Dwight

At its western terminus, Illinois 17 is one of the only routes in the state not to connect to a state highway or U.S. Route of another state. A ferry crossing to Iowa had been dropped in the 1950s,[2] but the terminus has not been moved east to reflect this. In 2003, the discovery that the Mississippi River had deepened at a nearby location raised the possibility of returning ferry service to New Boston.[4] Ferry service in New Boston would be expected to bring 15,000 cars across the river yearly, saving the vehicles from driving to either Burlington, Iowa or Muscatine, Iowa — distances of about 50 miles (80 km) — to cross over into Iowa.

History

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SBI Route 17 originally ran from Lacon to Grant Park. The only changes to Route 17 have been extensions east and west, and a relocation to a new road south of Streator.[2]

Illinois Route 83A connected Illinois Route 83 (now Illinois Route 17) to Keithsburg.

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmi[5]kmDestinationsNotes
MercerNew Boston0.00.01st Street (Mississippi River)Western terminus
1.52.4 
 
Great River Road north
West end of GRR overlap
4.06.4 
 
Great River Road south
East end of GRR overlap
Aledo14.523.3 
 
IL 94 south (College Avenue)
West end of IL 94 overlap
15.424.8 
 
IL 94 north (Northeast 15th Avenue)
East end of IL 94 overlap
Viola23.137.2  US 67 (13th Street)
Henry33.954.6 
 
US 150 north
West end of US 150 overlap
35.457.0 
 
US 150 south
East end of US 150 overlap
Woodhull37.961.0  
 
I-74 / IL 110 (CKC) – Moline, Galesburg
I-74 exit 32
Nekoma46.374.5 
 
IL 82 north
47.876.9 
 
US 34 west
West end of US 34 overlap
Galva53.986.7  US 34 (2nd Street)East end of US 34 overlap
Knox57.993.2 
 
IL 180 south
Stark64.0103.0 
 
IL 78 north
West end of IL 78 overlap
64.5103.8 
 
IL 78 south
East end of IL 78 overlap
Toulon68.0109.4 
 
IL 91 north (Union Street)
West end of IL 91 overlap
Wyoming74.0119.1 
 
IL 91 south (7th Street)
East end of IL 91 overlap
80.6129.7 
 
IL 40 north
West end of IL 40 overlap
Marshall85.1137.0 
 
IL 40 south
East end of IL 40 overlap
Sparland95.3153.4 
 
IL 29 north (Railroad Street)
West end of IL 29 overlap
95.6153.9 
 
IL 29 south (Railroad Street)
East end of IL 29 overlap
Illinois River96.7155.6Lacon Bridge
Lacon97.2156.4  IL 26 (Prairie Street)
106.5171.4  IL 89 (2160 East Road)
111.5179.4 
 
IL 117 south (2650 East Road)
115.6186.0   I-39 / US 51 – Bloomington-Normal, RockfordI-39 exit 35
LaSalle116.0186.7 
 
IL 251 south (East 6th Road)
West end of IL 251 overlap
Wenona118.1190.1 
 
IL 251 north (Chestnut Street)
East end of IL 251 overlap
Livingston129.4208.2  IL 23 (North 500 East Road)
138.2222.4 
 
IL 18 west (North 1200 East Road)
141.2227.2  IL 170 (North 1500 East Road)
151.2243.3  I-55 (Barack Obama Presidential Expressway) – Bloomington, JolietI-55 exit 217
Dwight151.8244.3  Historic US 66 – Joliet, Bloomington
152.8245.9  IL 47 (Union Street)
Grundy
No major junctions
KankakeeKankakee181.9292.7 
 
IL 113 west (Wall Street)
182.1293.1Bridge over Kankakee River
182.2293.2 
 
 
 
US 45 north / US 52 north (Kennedy Drive)
West end of US 45/US 52 overlap
182.7294.0 
 
 
 
US 45 south / US 52 south (Washington Avenue)
East end of US 45/US 52 overlap
183.0294.5 
 
IL 50 south (Indiana Avenue)
183.1294.7 
 
IL 50 north (Harrison Avenue)
184.3296.6  I-57 (Eastern Kankakee Bypass) – Chicago, ChampaignI-57 exit 312
Sun River Terrace190.2306.1 
 
IL 1 south (South 7500 East Road)
West end of IL 1 overlap
Momence195.5314.6 
 
IL 114 east (Gladiolus Street)
Grant Park203.0326.7 
 
IL 1 north (County Road East 1241 North)
East end of IL 1 overlap
Lake209.4337.0 
 
SR 2 east
Continuation into Indiana
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  2. ^ a b c Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 1 thru 20. Latest version as of March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
  3. ^ Illinois Highway Ends. Illinois 17 Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 21, 2006.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Jason. "Is New Boston Ferry Feasible Again?" Quad-Cities Online. http://qconline.com/progress2003/prog_dsplay.cgi?pr3!id!144550 February 14, 2004. URL retrieved April 21, 2006.
  5. ^ Google Maps, [1]
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