Route Description
I-255 leaves I-55 and I-270 as a east/west highway. This section to the JB Bridge was built in the 1960s and upgraded between 2002-2004 with new pavement and the replacement of the Telegraph Road bridge. Past Koch Road, I-255 crosses the Mississippi River on the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, known to the locals as the JB Bridge. Past this point, this highway is now signed as a north/south highway, and appears considerably newer than the Missouri section. The section from the JB Bridge to I-64 was opened to traffic between 1984 to 1985.
At the IL 3 interchange, I-255 makes a sharp turn north and is briefly duplexed with IL 3 in the Dupo area. When IL 3 splits, I-255 takes more of a northeast turn through the eastern side of Cahokia and East St. Louis. The Mousette Lane interchange was completed in the 1990s and is now the site of the Gateway Grizzlies baseball along with a business park located next to St. Louis Parks Airport. This section of 255 features shorter light poles to accommodate planes taking off and landing on the nearby airstrip. As a result, some of the best views of the St. Louis skyline can be observed in this area.
North of there, 255 continues through a portion of Frank Holten State Park before meeting up with I-64 just west of Caseyville. The section of 255 from 64 to 55/70 was opened on October 23, 1986, and it has a further east alignment than originally planned. 255 will cross Black Lane and two railroad tracks on a massive viaduct then intersect Collinsville Road just east of Fairmont Park racetrack.
255 will then intersect 55/70 and change its control cities from "Chicago" to "To I-270". The section from 55/70 to 270 was opened on July 26, 1988 and was not part of the original plans. (It was actually part of the plans that eventually became Illinois 255 that the politicians in the Alton-Wood River area started dreaming back in the 1970s.)
Read more about this topic: Interstate 255
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