U.S. Route 30 in Illinois - History

History

U.S. Route 30 in Illinois has undergone many major changes since its inception in 1926. It originally ran from Fulton (on the modern-day Lyons-Fulton Bridge) through Chicago using current U.S. 30, Illinois Route 2 east of Sterling to Dixon and Illinois Route 38 from Dixon to Bellwood (the full length of Illinois 38). It then followed Roosevelt Road, various city streets, Stony Island Avenue and Torrence Avenue to reach Indiana.

In 1932, U.S. 30 was relocated onto the Lincoln Highway in the southern suburbs, from Torrence Avenue to Illinois 31 in the Fox River Valley. U.S. 30 then concurrent with current Illinois 31 (then called U.S. Route 430) north to Illinois 38 in Geneva, and kept the 1926 routing westward from Geneva. The old U.S. 30 through Chicago became U.S. Route 330. In the Fox River Valley, U.S. 430 was created and ran north to Richmond from Geneva.

Between 1932 and 1942, U.S. 30 was relocated west of Geneva to Sterling on a new, more direct road further south. U.S. 330 was extended westward as U.S. 30 was relocated south. In 1937, U.S. 430 was dropped in favor of Illinois 31.

In 1942, U.S. 330 was dropped entirely and became Alternate U.S. Route 30, which lasted until 1971.

In June 1956, the Gateway Bridge bridge opened south of the Lyons-Fulton Bridge. U.S. 30 was rerouted south onto this bridge, and the old route named another Alternate U.S. Route 30 — this was soon changed to Illinois Route 136 so as to match Iowa Highway 136 on the other side of the Mississippi River.

In 1959, U.S. 30 was rerouted around Aurora. The old route through Aurora (present-day Galena Boulevard, New York Street and Hill Avenue) became City U.S. Route 30; this lasted all of one year until 1960 when it was renamed Business U.S. Route 30. Business U.S. 30 lasted a little longer before being removed in 1970.

In 1963, the East-West Tollway was built. From 1963 to 1965, the tollway was marked as Toll U.S. Route 30 and ran along modern-day I-88, Interstate 294, and the present-day Illinois 394 (which in 1963 was called Illinois 1 until 1964, when it became Illinois 394). The east–west Tollway portion was renamed to Illinois Route 190 in 1965, and eventually became Illinois Route 5 before becoming I-88 in 1988.

In 1971, Alternate U.S. Route 30 in Illinois was discontinued, renamed as Illinois Route 38 west of Bellwood, and dropped through the city of Chicago.

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