U.S. Route 34 in Illinois

U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west highway In the state of Illinois that runs from the Iowa state line at Gulfport, west of Galesburg, to Illinois Route 43 (IL 43) and Historic U.S. Route 66 at Harlem Avenue in Berwyn. The entire highway in Illinois is named the Walter Payton Memorial Highway after Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton, who wore #34 for the Chicago Bears. The highway is  long within the state.

The bridge into Iowa over the Mississippi River is called the Great River Bridge. Between Monmouth and Galesburg, the highway is up to Interstate Highway standards with exits at Main Street, Henderson Street, and Seminary Street in Galesburg.

History

Up until 1935, Illinois Route 28 roughly followed US 34 from Galesburg to Sheffield. In 1935, US 34 absorbed what had been the last remaining section of US 32. In 1935, IL 28 was entirely decommissioned.

US 34 formerly overlapped US 66 all the way to its endpoint in downtown Chicago, but was truncated to its intersection with US 66 and IL 43 in Berwyn in 1970. When US 66 was subsequently eliminated, the endpoint of US 34 was left at that location—the intersection of Ogden and Harlem Avenues in Berwyn. Due to the elimination of US 66, it is one of the few US Numbered Highways that ends at a state highway. With the re-signing of much of Historic US 66, the history of US 34's eastern endpoint is becoming much more clear.

Proposals
The now cancelled Prairie Parkway limited-access highway would have had an interchange with US 34, between Needham Road and Waubonsee Drive in the city of Plano.

A bypass of the town of Biggsville is has finished construction. It created a diamond interchange between US 34 and IL 94/IL 116 as well as bypass West Central High School. It was complete by the fall of 2014.

Major intersections

References

 

34
 Illinois
Category:Transportation in Henderson County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Warren County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Knox County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Henry County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Bureau County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in LaSalle County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Kendall County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Kane County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in DuPage County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in Cook County, Illinois