 Illinois Route 37 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 IL 37 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byIDOT | ||||
| Length | 155.07 mi[1] (249.56 km) | |||
| Existed | November 5, 1918[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   US 51 /IL 3 inCairo | |||
| Major intersections |  I-64 inMt. Vernon US 50 inSalem | |||
| North end |  US 45 inWatson | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Illinois | |||
| Counties | Alexander,Pulaski,Johnson,Williamson,Franklin,Jefferson,Marion,Fayette,Clay,Effingham | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Illinois Route 37,Illinois 37 orIL 37, is a 155.07-mile-long (249.56 km) north–southstate highway in southern Illinois. IL 37's southern terminus is atU.S. Route 51 (US 51) andIL 3 inCairo and the northern terminus is atUS 45 inWatson.[1]
Between Effingham and a point nearWatson, a segment in which it shared a route withU.S. Route 45, Illinois 37 has been decommissioned in favor of US 45. Between Watson and just north ofSalem, it angles westward and toward the south before meetingUS 50 at Salem,Illinois 15 andIllinois 142 atMount Vernon,Interstate 64 south of Mount Vernon,Illinois 14 andIllinois 34 atBenton,Illinois 149 atWest Frankfort,Illinois 13 atMarion, andUS 51 andIllinois 3 at its current southern terminus atUrbandale. Both ofIllinois Route 148's termini branch from Route 37, the north terminus atMount Vernon, and the southern terminus just north ofPulley's Mill. It has no direct connection toInterstate 24, which is far better approached from Interstate 57.
All of Illinois 37 is an undivided surface route.
Originally connectingEffingham toCairo, it was a heavily-traveled highway beforeInterstate 57 was opened. That Interstate, which lies very close to most of Illinois 37 (indeed the entire route north ofPulleys Mill), supplanted it as a through route. Illinois 37 was long a part of the most direct route between Chicago andMemphis. Illinois 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.
| 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 | formerUS 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 toI-57 –Herrin | ||||
| Marion | 55.1 | 88.7 |   IL 13 (Deyoung Street) /Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) toI-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) toI-57 –Zeigler,Thompsonville | 4 lanes for entire length through West Frankfort | |||
| Benton | 73.0 | 117.5 |    IL 14 west /IL 34 east (Main Street) toI-57 –Christopher,Harrisburg | South end of IL 14 overlap;traffic circle aroundFranklin 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 toI-57 –Rend Lake | |||||
| Jefferson | | 92.4 | 148.7 | I-64 toI-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) toI-57 /I-64 –Ashley | ||||||||
| Dix | To Dix-Irving Road /I-57 | |||||||
| Marion | | 110.0 | 177.0 |  IL 161 west toI-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) toI-57 –St. Peter,Iola | ||||
| Clay | No major junctions | |||||||
| Effingham | Edgewood | To Iowa Street /I-57 | ||||||
| | 151.0 | 243.0 | ToI-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
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