Interstate 180 (Illinois)


Interstate 180 is a north-south spur highway that runs from Princeton, Illinois to the small town of Hennepin, Illinois on its southern terminus. It is long.

Route description

Interstate 180 begins as a continuation of Route 71 at a diamond interchange with Route 26 northeast of Hennepin. The interchange is located adjacent to a former steel mill that was most recently operated by ArcelorMittal until 2009. The freeway travels northwest, carrying I-180 and Route 26 in a concurrency, and crosses the Illinois River on the north side of Hennepin to enter Bureau County.
On the west side of the river, Route 26 separates from I-180 and the freeway crosses over Route 29 before splitting at a Y-interchange. I-180 turns north, intersecting an expressway that connects to Route 29, and travels northeast across Big Bureau Creek to intersect Route 26. The freeway intersects U.S. Route 6 east of Princeton and continues due north to its terminus, a trumpet interchange with I-80. I-180 has four lanes for its entire length.

History

Construction of I-180 was completed in 1969. The freeway was built primarily to connect Interstate 80 to a new Jones & Laughlin steel plant built in 1965 in Hennepin, IL. However, the steel plant closed soon after I-180 was built, and did not re-open until August 2002. Federal auditors criticized its construction and called it a political favor that was put ahead of other requests from Tucson, Arizona and Tacoma, Washington.
I-180 is one of the least traveled interstates in the nation, serving 1,950–3,600 vehicles per day as of 2013.

Exit list