Illinois Route 37

Illinois Route 37, Illinois 37 or IL 37, is a 155.07-mile-long (249.56 km) north–south state highway in southern Illinois. IL 37's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and IL 3 in Cairo and the northern terminus is at US 45 in Watson.^[1]

Illinois Route 37
IL 37 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length	155.07 mi^[1] (249.56 km)
Existed	November 5, 1918^[2]–present
Major junctions
South end	US 51 / IL 3 in Cairo
Major intersections	I-64 in Mt. Vernon US 50 in Salem
North end	US 45 in Watson
Location
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	Alexander, Pulaski, Johnson, Williamson, Franklin, Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Clay, Effingham
Highway system
Illinois State Highway System Interstate US State Tollways
← US 36 → IL 38

Route description

Between Effingham and a point near Watson, a segment in which it shared a route with U.S. Route 45, Illinois 37 has been decommissioned in favor of US 45. Between Watson and just north of Salem, it angles westward and toward the south before meeting US 50 at Salem, Illinois 15 and Illinois 142 at Mount Vernon, Interstate 64 south of Mount Vernon, Illinois 14 and Illinois 34 at Benton, Illinois 149 at West Frankfort, Illinois 13 at Marion, and US 51 and Illinois 3 at its current southern terminus at Urbandale. Both of Illinois Route 148's termini branch from Route 37, the north terminus at Mount Vernon, and the southern terminus just north of Pulley's Mill. It has no direct connection to Interstate 24, which is far better approached from Interstate 57.

All of Illinois 37 is an undivided surface route.

History

Originally connecting Effingham to Cairo, it was a heavily-traveled highway before Interstate 57 was opened. That Interstate, which lies very close to most of Illinois 37 (indeed the entire route north of Pulleys Mill), supplanted it as a through route. Illinois 37 was long a part of the most direct route between Chicago and Memphis. llinois 37 has become a route of local significance instead of the busy, long-distance, inter-city highway that it was until the 1970s. As a town-to-town route, it especially serves communities which have no access to Interstate 57.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi^[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Alexander	Cairo	0.0	0.0	US 51 / IL 3 north / Great River Road (National Route) – Cairo
Pulaski	​			Mounds	former US 51 north
	​	21.4	34.4	IL 169 east – Karnak
Johnson	West Vienna	32.0	51.5	IL 146 – Anna, Vienna
Williamson	​	45.6	73.4	IL 148 north to I-57 – Herrin
	Marion	55.1	88.7	IL 13 (Deyoung Street) / Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) to I-57 – Carbondale, Harrisburg	short 4 lane section at intersection with Illinois 37 in Marion
	Johnston City			To Broadway Boulevard / I-57 – Herrin, Business District
Franklin	West Frankfort	65.9	106.1	IL 149 (Main Street) to I-57 – Zeigler, Thompsonville	4 lanes for entire length through West Frankfort
	Benton	73.0	117.5	IL 14 west / IL 34 east (Main Street) to I-57 – Christopher, Harrisburg	South end of IL 14 overlap; traffic circle around Franklin County Courthouse
		73.9	118.9	IL 14 east (Bailey Lane) / Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) – McLeansboro	North end of IL 14 overlap
	​	78.8	126.8	IL 154 west to I-57 – Rend Lake
Jefferson	​	92.4	148.7	I-64 to I-57 – East St. Louis, Evansville	I-64 exit 80
	Mt. Vernon	94.2	151.6	IL 142 south / IL 148 south (Veterans Memorial Drive) / Lincoln Heritage Trail  – Waltonville, McLeansboro
				IL 15 east (Broadway Street) – Fairfield
				IL 15 west (Main Street) to I-57 / I-64 – Ashley
	Dix			To Dix-Irving Road / I-57
Marion	​	110.0	177.0	IL 161 west to I-57 – Centralia
	Salem	117.4	188.9	US 50 (Main Street) / Lincoln Heritage Trail  – Sandoval, Flora
	Kinmundy			First Street - Louisville
Fayette	Farina	136.1	219.0	IL 185 west (Washington Street) to I-57 – St. Peter, Iola
Clay	No major junctions
Effingham	Edgewood			To Iowa Street / I-57
	​	151.0	243.0	To I-57 – Effingham, Mt. Vernon	I-57 exit 151
	​	155.07	249.56	US 45 – Effingham, Flora
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
2. Carlson, Rich. Illinois Highways Page: Routes 21 thru 40. Last updated March 15, 2005. Retrieved April 7, 2006.
3. Google Maps, [1]

External links

Route map:

Template:Attached KML/Illinois Route 37

KML is from Wikidata

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Illinois Route 37.