U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in the state of Illinois is an east–west arterial surface road that runs 179.88 miles (289.49 km) from the city of Moline in the Quad Cities area to Lansing at the Indiana state line.
US 6 then runs past Ottawa, intersecting with the concurrent IL 23/IL 71 before joining with IL 71 for four miles (6.4 km). Further east, US 6 runs through Marseilles and Seneca, where IL 170 terminates. It then runs through Morris and overlaps IL 47 for a slight northward jog. At Channahon, US 6 has an interchange with I-55.
Joliet to Indiana
US 6 at US 52 on the southwest side of Joliet
In the Joliet area, US 6 parallels the Des Plaines River and passes beneath the cantilever bridge carrying I-80 over the Des Plaines River. At this point, it is called Railroad Street, but it turns onto McDonough Street with US 52 as it crosses the river. It then turns north, overlapping IL 53 (Chicago Street) and then east with US 30 (Cass Street). Two blocks north of leaving US 30, US 6 intersects the southern terminus of IL 171 and turns east onto Maple Road. In New Lenox, it intersects with I-355 and becomes Southwest Highway.
US 6 turns off Southwest Highway in Orland Park, heads north on Wolf Road briefly, then turns east onto 159th Street, a major east–west arterial through that town and the southern suburbs of Chicago. In Calumet City, US 6 joins with IL 83 south to the I-80/I-94 (Kingery Expressway) and then follows the Kingery east into Indiana.
US 6 first was shown on maps in 1932, mainly on its current routing except for a more southerly routing from Princeton to Spring Valley through DePue and at the Illinois–Indiana line.[3][4] In 1934, both portions were changed to its current routing, from Princeton to Spring Valley and in Lockport.[4] By 1939, US 6 was rerouted in the Quad Cities, briefly forming US 6 City.[5][6][7] By 1953, the route was rerouted to travel along Torrence Avenue and part of the Kingery Expressway (from US 30 Alternate to Indiana state line).[8][9]
Prior to the formation of US 6, the road west of Princeton was US 32. US 32 remained for several more years until the part east of Princeton became an extension of US 34.
Eastern end of US 34 overlap; western end of IL 26/Illinois River Road/Ronald Reagan Trail overlap; former IL 89 spur to Tiskilwa (state maintained outside Princeton)
^Illinois Secretary of State (1932). Official Illinois Highway Map (Map). [c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000]. Springfield: Illinois Division of Highways. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
^ abIllinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1934). Official Road Map Illinois (Map). [c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000]. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. OCLC183709045. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
^Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1936). Road Map Illinois (Map). [c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000]. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
^Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1939). Illinois Road Map (Map) (1939–1940 ed.). c. 1:918,720. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
^Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1940). Illinois Road Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
^Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1951). Illinois Road Map (Map). c. 1:918,720. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
^Illinois Division of Highways (1953). Illinois Official Highway Map (Map). [1:805,000]. Springfield: Illinois Division of Highways. Retrieved June 13, 2021 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
