U.S. Route 12 in Illinois - History

History

In 1928, U.S. Route 12 followed its current route south from Wisconsin into Richmond. It then continued straight on what is now Illinois 31 to Crystal Lake, and then ran along what is now U.S. Route 14 into Chicago. This route began to be depicted on Chicago maps in 1932 along the Northwest Highway, Foster Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, South Parkway (now most likely the 57th Street / Cornell Avenue combination), Stony Island Avenue and 95th Street.

From 1928 to 1929, the section between the Wisconsin state line to Crystal Lake was being constructed; this segment was designated Temporary U.S. Route 12 at the time.

In 1938, U.S. 12 was moved north off of the U.S. 14 routing to the current routing to Des Plaines. In addition, U.S. 12 was moved to what is now Mannheim Road, La Grange Road and 95th Street. The former U.S. 12 became City U.S. Route 12.

In 1939, U.S. 12 was moved to a bypass around Lake Zurich.

There were no further changes to the U.S. 12 routing until 1960, when City U.S. 12 became Business U.S. Route 12. In 1963, U.S. 12 was moved onto the Chicago Skyway and became Toll Business U.S. Route 12 until 1968, when all Business U.S. 12 designations were dropped.

In Illinois, the highway has been designated as the Iron Brigade Memorial Highway to honor the Civil War Union Army unit, a designation it also has in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Read more about this topic:  U.S. Route 12 In Illinois

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