U.S. Route 50 (US 50) in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

is an east–west highway across the southern portion of the state. It runs from the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, over the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

east, to the Red Skelton Memorial Bridge, over the

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

and to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. This is a distance of .

Route description

US 50 runs east–west across the southern portion of the state, between Interstate 70 (I-70) to the north and I-64 to the south. Along many portions of US 50, the road has been moved onto either a bypass or an expressway.

Missouri state line to Flora

After US 50 and I-255 leave Mehlvile and enter Columbia, they then run concurrently with Illinois Route 3 (IL 3), as well as the

Great River Road The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Miss ...

, at a directional T interchange (exit 6). 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 ...

(exit 10), IL 3 and the Great River Road leave the freeway. Further northeast, they meet IL 157 at a parclo interchange with five ramps, Mousette Lane at a diamond interchange, IL 15 at a cloverleaf interchange, and State Street at a four-ramp parclo interchange. At the next interchange, US 50 moves off I-255 to I-64 at a cloverleaf interchange with collector–distributor lanes. Once US 50 moves onto I-64, it continues eastward. They meet IL 157 at a four-ramp parclo, IL 159 at a six-ramp parclo, and a few other interchanges before they reach another cloverleaf. At that point, US 50 turns north from I-64, briefly overlapping IL 158 until US 50 turns east. In

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, US 50 turns north and then east via IL 4. As it continues eastward, it remains a two-lane

undivided highway A single carriageway (British English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation/median strip to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road is a type of single carriageway ...

. North of Trenton and Breese, each part of US 50 briefly becomes a four-lane divided highway with one diamond interchange each (one with IL 160 and one with Jamestown Road respectively). Each section reverts to an undivided highway. In Carlyle, US 50 turns south and then back east (overlapping IL 127). In

Sandoval Sandoval is a habitational surname of Spanish language, Spanish origin. It primarily originates from Sandoval de la Reina, Spain, earlier called ''Sannoval'', which is a blend word of Latin ''saltus'' (meaning 'grove' or 'wood') and Latin ''novalis ...

, it turns north and then back east again (overlapping US 51). In Salem, it meets

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of I-55. The Interstate ...

west of downtown and IL 37 within downtown.

Flora to Indiana state line

As US 50 meanders eastward, it eventually reaches US 45 north of

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. At that point, US 45 runs concurrently with US 50. Then, it branches off south from US 50. Further east, it reaches Olney. At that point, IL 250 begins west of

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

and then travels northeast to downtown Noble and Olney. As US 50 intersects IL 130 south of Olney, IL 250 overlaps US 50. Just north of

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

, IL 250 moves off south to Sumner and Bridgeport. Just northwest of Lawrenceville, US 50 Business begins; it serves downtown Lawrenceville. Across the Embarras River, US 50 reaches a one-quadrant interchange with IL 1. East of Lawrenceville, US 50 becomes a four-lane divided highway for the rest of its run in the state. It meets US 50 Business at an incomplete interchange, a diamond interchange, and IL 33 at a modified diamond interchange before exiting Illinois.

History

Much of US 50 in Illinois, especially the section between Carlyle and Vincennes, lies atop or adjacent to the trail taken by

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

and his 170 volunteers in the forlorn-hope march on Vincennes in February 1779. Up until 1935, Illinois Route 12 (IL 12) followed roughly along the old alignment of US 50 from the Missouri state line east of St. Louis to the Indiana state line west of Vincennes, IN. By 1935, IL 12 was decommissioned. US 50 between Lebanon and Carlyle was moved to a northern alignment in October 1986 that bypassed several communities, including Trenton and Aviston. As of 2011, much of US 50 is a two-lane highway, but portions around Lawrenceville and Vincennes are configured as a four-lane, limited access bypass, built to

Interstate Highway standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway t ...

in the 1960s. Another modern bypass portion between

and IL 127 shows evidence of a four-lane right of way as each bridge is paralleled by a second that remains unused and the graded roadbed for additional lanes is visible.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 50 In Illinois 50 Illinois Transportation in Monroe County, Illinois Transportation in St. Clair County, Illinois Transportation in Clinton County, Illinois Transportation in Marion County, Illinois Transportation in Clay County, Illinois Transportation in Richland County, Illinois Transportation in Lawrence County, Illinois