^Northbound trailblazer seen by those passing the junction with Illinois 166 at New Burnside, February 2023.
US Route 45 stretches a greater distance within the state of Illinois than any other route, running from the Wisconsin border, near Kenosha, to the Kentucky border by Paducah. This page covers the majority of US Route 45's length in the state of Illinois, from Kankakee County south. If you want photos and information for the section of US Route 45 in Chicagoland, click here.
Picking up where we left off, crossing from Will County into Kankakee County, US Route 45 and US Route 52 run south together into the Kankakee area, encountering Illinois 102's eastern end in Bourbonnais...
Picking up where we left off, crossing from Will County into Kankakee County, US Route 45 and US Route 52 run south together into the Kankakee area, encountering Illinois 102's eastern end in Bourbonnais...
Just west of downtown Kankakee, US Routes 45 and 52 both join Illinois 17 east for several blocks:
Then, US Routes 45 and 52 split from Illinois 17, still operating as a continuous partnership as they turn southerly again:
US Routes 45 and 52 cross the Kankakee River and zigzag through Kankakee, splitting into the northern start of Illinois 115:
US Routes 45 and 52 turn onto Schuyler Avenue, which carries the southern extent of Illinois 50:
US Routes 45 and 52 leave Kankakee going due south, and they are indeed still concurrent, meeting a kitty-corner fountain interchange with Interstate 57...
At a 4-way intersection east of Ashkum, US Route 45 turns to the west, while US Route 52 turns to the east and Illinois 49 gets its northern start, heading south:
US Route 45, finally on its own again, heads west to Ashkum, and turns southerly at the eastern end of Illinois 116:
US Route 45 now closely parallels Interstate 57, and in Gilman, it joins US Route 24 west for a short distance:
Only a couple miles later, US Route 45 heads south while US Route 24 splits to go westerly:
In Onarga, US Route 45 meets the northeastern end of Illinois 54:
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In Paxton, Illinois 9 joins US Route 45 from the east for a few blocks...
Then, Illinois 9 splits from US Route 45 to resume going westward...
US Route 45 crosses US Route 136 in Rantoul...
As US Route 45 enters Urbana, it meets an interchange with Interstate 74...
In Urbana, US Route 45 joins US Route 150 west:
After crossing into Champaign, US Route 45 and US Route 150 part ways...
Near Pesotum, US Route 45 crosses under Interstate 57 with an interchange, and it won't be the last time this happens...
US Route 45 passes over US Route 36 in Tuscola, but a pair of short access roads create a sort of fountain interchange...
US Route 45 crosses Illinois 133 at Arcola:
In Mattoon, US Route 45 and Illinois 121 fuse together to run south concurrently...
Alongside downtown Mattoon, US Route 45 and Illinois 121 join Illinois 16 east for a single block:
Then US Route 45 and Illinois 121, still together, split from Illinois 16 to resume going south:
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South of downtown Mattoon, US Route 45 and Illinois 121 continue south through an interchange with Interstate 57...
Three miles east of Neoga, Illinois 121 splits from US Route 45, which diverts southwesterly...
As US Route 45 enters Neoga, it meets its fourth interchange with Interstate 57:
Then, entering Effingham, US Route 45 meets a fifth interchange with Interstate 57, but this time, Interstate 57 is concurrent with Interstate 70:
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In Effingham, US Route 45 joins US Route 40 and Illinois 33 west for several blocks:
Then, US Route 45 splits from US Route 40 and Illinois 33 at downtown Effingham:
US Route 45 heads more southerly than Interstate 57, which turns more southwesterly, and it meets the northeastern end of Illinois 37 at Watson:
At Flora, US Route 45 joins US Route 50 east:
After about four miles, US Route 45 splits from US Route 50 to resume heading southerly...
US Route 45 joins Illinois 15 east into Fairfield, where the concurrent routes share a pair of one-way streets:
The pair of one-way streets carrying Illinois 15 send US Route 45 to split southward in downtown Fairfield:
Near the small town of Mill Shoals, US Route 45 meets Interstate 64 at a common diamond interchange:
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Near Enfield, US Route 45 crosses Illinois 14:
At Norris City, US Route 45 ricochets off of Illinois 1, where US Route 45 turns southwesterly and Illinois 1 goes from southwesterly to southerly:
After four more miles, US Route 45 reaches the western end of Illinois 141:
US Route 45 crosses Illinois 142 at Eldorado:
In Harrisburg, US Route 45 crosses Illinois 13 at a junction where Illinois 34 comes from the west to turn south and join US Route 45:
On the south side of Harrisburg, US Route 45 splits from Illinois 34 to head south on the northern beginning of Illinois 145:
At New Burnside, US Route 45 meets Illinois 166 at that route's southern end:
As US Route 45 enters Vienna, it crosses Interstate 24 at a full interchange...
US Route 45 crosses Illinois 146 in Vienna:
After about nine miles, US Route 45 meets the eastern end of Illinois 169:
Just after passing through Metropolis, US Route 45 crosses back to the east side of Interstate 24, with an interchange:
Right alongside that interchange, US Route 45 meets the southern end of Illinois 145:
At Brookport, Illinois, US Route 45 turns to cross southerly over the Ohio River into Paducah, Kentucky. This bridge is eerily narrow and NOT FOR TRUCKS!
