Interstate 70 (I-70) is a part of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

that travels from

Cove Fort, Utah Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley (the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley) at the request of Brigham Young. One of its distinctive ...

, to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

. In the US state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, the highway travels from the

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

state line at the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

east to the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

state line near Marshall. I-70, which travels in a generally east-northeast direction across the state parallel to and sometimes concurrent with U.S. Route 40 (US 40), connects St. Louis and the

Metro East Metro East is a region in southern Illinois that contains eastern and northern suburbs and exurbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties (and parts of three others) in the St. Louis Metropolitan Stati ...

region of Illinois with the Indiana cities of

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

and

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, as well as many small towns along the northern edge of

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

and the southern tier of the

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agr ...

region. Within Metro East, I-70 has

interchanges Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

with

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

near

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

. I-70 also has interchanges with the two Interstates that form St. Louis's

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

: I-255 near Collinsville and I-270 at the I-55 junction near Troy. East of the Metro East region, I-70 meets US 51 in Vandalia and both

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

and US 45 in Effingham. Like all Interstate Highways, I-70 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length in Illinois.

Route description

I-70 enters Illinois from St. Louis by crossing the Mississippi River on the four-lane

Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge (known as the New Mississippi River Bridge until its formal naming in 2013 and informally known as the "Stan Span") is a bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between St. Clair County, ...

into the village of Brooklyn in St. Clair County. The first interchange is for

Illinois Route 3 Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) is a major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction (about north of Cairo) at the intersection of U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and Illinois Ro ...

(IL 3), which heads south toward

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

; the Interstate has an interchange with

toward Fairview Heights and

, which it joins and heads northeast. Previously, I-70 ran together with I-55 and I-64 across the

Poplar Street Bridge The Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge, formerly known as the Bernard F. Dickmann Bridge and popularly as the Poplar Street Bridge or PSB, completed in 1967, is a deck girder bridge across the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri, ...

downstream, crossing into

; when it was realigned to the current routing, the section through

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

was absorbed into another Interstate. I-55/I-70 have an interchange with IL 203 before entering Madison County. The Interstate has a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with IL 111 just north of Fairmont City and a partial one with Black Lane before the highway's interchange with I-255 west of Collinsville. I-55/I-70 curve northeast around Collinsville and leave the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the Mississippi River at the interchange with IL 157 (Bluff Road), where the highway reduces to four lanes. The Interstate passes between Collinsville and Maryville, which are both served by the next interchange with IL 159 (Vandalia Street/Maryville Road). US 40 leaves the freeway at a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

southwest of Troy. I-55/I-70 curve to the north and meet IL 162 (Edwardsville Road) before they diverge at their interchange with I-270. The interchange, exit 20, is a full cloverleaf except for a flyover ramp for westbound I-70 to join southbound I-55. Westbound I-70's interchange is exit 15; the exits east of that are numbered as if I-70 had run along I-270 for the first few miles in Illinois. I-70 meets IL 4 and IL 143 to the south and east of

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

before crossing Highland Silver Lake. US 40 rejoins I-70 near Pierron, and the two highways travel concurrently into Bond County, where they separate at

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

. Here, I-70 crosses Shoal Creek. US 40 continues to closely parallel I-70 until the next interchange, which is a connector to US 40 southwest of Greenville. The two highways pass to the south of Greenville, which is also served via an interchange with IL 127. East of Mulberry Grove, I-70/US 40 cross to the north side of the east–west rail line and again closely parallel each other into Fayette County. I-70 passes along the northern edge of Vandalia, with access to the county seat of Fayette County provided by an interchange with US 40 on the west side and US 51 (Kennedy Boulevard) to the north. Just east of US 51, I-70 crosses the

Kaskaskia River The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the Un ...

. I-70 crosses to the south side of both the rail line and US 40 (Cumberland Road) between Bluff City and Brownstown. The Interstate passes to the south of St. Elmo before entering Effingham County to the west of an interchange with IL 128 at Altamont. Immediately after crossing the Little Wabash River, I-70 joins I-57 in a concurrency to pass around the west and north sides of Effingham. The two Interstates use I-57's exit sequence during the concurrency. I-57/I-70 have interchanges with Fayette Avenue, IL 32 and IL 33 (Keller Drive), and US 45 (Third Street) before diverging near Teutopolis. Just east of Montrose, I-70 enters

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

, where the Interstate has one interchange with IL 130 (Haughton Highway) at Greenup, where the highway crosses the Embarras River. The Interstate continues into Clark County for an interchange with IL 49 north of Casey. I-70 crosses the North Fork Embarras River north of Martinsville, then has an interchange with IL 1 north of the county seat of Marshall. Northeast of Marshall, US 40 rejoins I-70 in a concurrency. The highways then cross the Indiana state line west of Terre Haute, Indiana, while closely paralleling the original alignment of US 40, Illiana Drive.

History

In 1957, the first section of I-70 was built near Troy. However, initially, it was not signed as I-70. Instead, it was signed as US 66. In 1960, the expressway extended southwest to Collinsville. In a 1960 highway map, both I-55 and I-70 appeared for the first time. In 1961, I-70 also appeared between Effingham and Montrose. In 1962, both I-55 and I-70 further extended southwest to Exchange Avenue. Also, I-70 extended southwest from Effingham to IL 128 near Altamont. In 1964, it extended further southwest from IL 128 to US 40 in between Bluff City and Brownstown. In East St. Louis, I-55/I-70 extended southwest even further to directly connect to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. In 1965, an I-55/I-270 interchange was made. This would later be used for connecting I-70 eastward to Highland since 1966. That same year, I-70 extends west from US 40 near Bluff City to US 51 and then back to US 40. In 1968, the

, a beam bridge, opened. That same year, the eastern portion of I-70 extended further west to IL 127 near Greenville. The western portion of I-70 extended east to

. In 1969, both long sections were connected. In 1970, part of I-70 appeared west from Indiana. In 1972, a final connection in Illinois (from Montrose to IL 1 north of Marshall) was made. On February 9, 2014, the

opened. After the opening, I-70 was moved further north from the Poplar Street Bridge.

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

I-70 has one auxiliary route in Illinois: *: Forms the northern and western two-thirds of the beltway around Greater St. Louis (the eastern third is signed as I-255)

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=I, route=70, state=Illinois, stateafter=Indiana, statebefore=Missouri Illinois 70 Transportation in St. Clair County, Illinois Transportation in Madison County, Illinois Transportation in Bond County, Illinois Transportation in Fayette County, Illinois Transportation in Effingham County, Illinois Transportation in Cumberland County, Illinois Transportation in Clark County, Illinois