Illinois Route 17 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Illinois Route 17 is a rural, arterial east–west state road that runs east from a former ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

crossing in New Boston

New Boston, Illinois

New Boston is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 632 at the 2000 census.-Geography:New Boston is located at ....

along the banks of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

to State Road 2 west of Lowell, Indiana

Lowell, Indiana

-Demographics:At the 2000 census, there were 7,505 people, 2,697 households and 2,030 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,839.2 per square mile . There were 2,809 housing units at an average density of 688.4 per square mile...

. It is 209.4 miles (337 km) long.

Route description

Illinois 17 is the main street for numerous small towns in west central and central Illinois. It crosses the Illinois River

Illinois River

The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...

at Lacon

Lacon, Illinois

Lacon is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,979 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lacon is located at ....

, and passes through Dwight

Dwight, Illinois

Dwight is a village in located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois, with a small portion in Grundy County, Illinois. The population was 4,260 at the 2010 census. Dwight contains an original stretch of the famous U.S. Route 66, and uses a railroad station designed in 1891 by Henry Ives Cobb. It is...

and Kankakee

Kankakee, Illinois

Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County...

, before it joins with Illinois Route 1

Illinois Route 1

Illinois Route 1 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. Running parallel to the Indiana border, it is also the longest state road, starting on the south side of Chicago as Halsted Street at the intersection with 95th Street, south to a free ferry crossing to Kentucky at Cave-In-Rock on...

and enters Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

east of Grant Park

Grant Park, Illinois

Grant Park is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. Grant Park was incorporated in 1883.. In 2000, Grant Park, IL had a population of 1,358, and in 2009, a population of 1,701. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the...

.

Illinois 17 also overlaps with U.S. Route 34

U.S. Route 34

U.S. Route 34 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 1,122 miles from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches 12,183 ft , making it the highest paved through highway in...

, old U.S. Route 51

U.S. Route 51

U.S. Route 51 is a north–south United States highway that runs for 1,286 miles from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana to within of the Wisconsin-Michigan border. Much of the highway in Illinois and southern Wisconsin runs parallel to or overlaps Interstate 39...

, and Illinois Route 40

Illinois Route 40

Illinois Route 40 is a north–south route in central portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from Interstate 74 in East Peoria north to Illinois Route 78 at Mt. Carroll, just south of U.S. Route 52 and Illinois Route 64. This is a distance of ....

south of Wyoming

Wyoming, Illinois

Wyoming is a city in Stark County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2000 census. It is the headquarters of the Rock Island Trail State Park. Wyoming is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. It also crosses the Kankakee River

Kankakee River

The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the...

at Momence

Momence, Illinois

Momence is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,063 in 2009. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical...

. The route is largely a 2 lane road except through towns, where it occasionally becomes a 2 lane road with a center turn lane. East of Kankakee, Illinois 17 becomes a 4-lane divided highway.

At its western terminus, Illinois 17 is one of the only routes in the state not to connect to a state highway or U.S. Route of another state. A ferry crossing to Iowa had been dropped in the 1950s, but the terminus has not been moved east to reflect this. In 2003, the discovery that the Mississippi River had deepened at a nearby location raised the possibility of returning ferry service to New Boston. Ferry service in New Boston would be expected to bring 15,000 cars across the river yearly, saving the vehicles from driving to either Burlington, Iowa

Burlington, Iowa

Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...

or Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...

— distances of about 50 miles (80 km) — to cross over into Iowa.

History

SBI Route 17 originally ran from Lacon

Lacon, Illinois

to Grant Park

Grant Park, Illinois

. The only changes to Route 17 have been extensions east and west, and a relocation to a new road south of Streator

Streator, Illinois

Streator is a city in LaSalle and partially in Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. It is the center of the geographic region known as...

Major intersections

{| class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Mile
!Junction
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=6|Mercer

Mercer County, Illinois

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,434, which is a decrease of 3.1% from 16,957 in 2000. Its county seat is Aledo...

|New Boston

New Boston, Illinois

New Boston is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 632 at the 2000 census.-Geography:New Boston is located at ....

|
|1st Street (Mississippi River

Mississippi River

Aledo, Illinois

Aledo is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,613 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mercer County.-Geography:Aledo is located at ....

Viola, Illinois

Viola is a village in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 956 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Viola is located at ....

Henry County, Illinois

Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 50,486, which is a decrease of 1.0% from 51,020 in 2000. Its county seat is Cambridge...

Woodhull, Illinois

Woodhull is a village in Henry County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the village had a population of 811, up from 809 at the 2000 census. AlWood Middle-High School is located in Woodhull, with students coming from nearby Alpha after the merger in the early 1950's, and also with students coming...

|
|
|
|-
|Nekoma

Nekoma, Illinois

Nekoma is an unincorporated town in Weller Township, Henry County, Illinois, USA....

Galva, Illinois

Galva is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,589 at the 2010 census, down from 2,758 at the 2000 census.-Information:...

Knox County, Illinois

Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 52,919, which is a decrease of 5.2% from 55,836 in 2000...

Stark County, Illinois

Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 5,994, which is a decrease of 5.3% from 6,332 in 2000...

Toulon, Illinois

Toulon is a city in Stark County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Stark County. Toulon is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the northwestern terminus of the Rock Island Trail State Park.-Geography:Toulon...

Wyoming, Illinois

Marshall County, Illinois

The median income for a household in the county was $41,576, and the median income for a family was $48,061. Males had a median income of $35,765 versus $21,452 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,065...

Sparland, Illinois

Sparland is a village in Marshall County, Illinois, United States. The population was 504 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

Illinois River

|colspan=3 align=center|Lacon Bridge
|-
|Lacon

Lacon, Illinois

|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|La Salle

La Salle County, Illinois

LaSalle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 113,924, which is an increase of 2.2% from 111,509 in 2000. Its county seat and largest city is Ottawa....

Wenona, Illinois

Wenona is a city in Marshall and LaSalle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 1,065 at the 2000 census.The Marshall County portion of Wenona is part of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion that lies in LaSalle County is part of the...

Livingston County, Illinois

Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 38,950, which is a decrease of 1.8% from 39,678 in 2000. Its county seat is Pontiac....

|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|Dwight

Dwight, Illinois

Kankakee County, Illinois

Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 113,449, which is an increase of 9.3% from 103,833 in 2000. Its county seat is Kankakee....

|rowspan=5|Kankakee

Kankakee, Illinois

Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County...

Sun River Terrace, Illinois

Sun River Terrace is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 383 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Kankakee-Bradley, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Sun River Terrace is located at ....

Momence, Illinois

|
|
|
|-
|Grant Park

Grant Park, Illinois

Lake County, Indiana

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2010, its population was 496,005, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. This county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area. The county contains a mix of urban,...

|
|
|
|Continuation into Indiana

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.