# Illinois Route 17

Illinois Route 17 (IL 17) is a rural, arterial east–west state highway that runs east from a former ferry crossing in New Boston along the banks of the Mississippi River to State Road 2 west of Lowell, Indiana. It is 209.40 miles (337.00 km) long.

## Route description

Illinois 17 is the main street for numerous small towns in west central and central Illinois. It crosses the Illinois River at Lacon, and passes through Dwight and Kankakee, before it joins with Illinois Route 1 and enters Indiana east of Grant Park.
Illinois 17 also overlaps with U.S. Route 34, Illinois Route 251 (old U.S. Route 51), and Illinois Route 40 south of Wyoming. It also crosses the Kankakee River at Kankakee, IL. The route is largely a 2 lane road except through towns, where it occasionally becomes a 2 lane road with a center turn lane. East of Kankakee, Illinois 17 becomes a 4-lane divided highway.
At its western terminus, Illinois 17 is one of the only routes in the state not to connect to a state highway or U.S. Route of another state. A ferry crossing to Iowa had been dropped in the 1950s, but the terminus has not been moved east to reflect this. In 2003, the discovery that the Mississippi River had deepened at a nearby location raised the possibility of returning ferry service to New Boston. Ferry service in New Boston would be expected to bring 15,000 cars across the river yearly, saving the vehicles from driving to either Burlington, Iowa or Muscatine, Iowa — distances of about 50 miles (80 km) — to cross over into Iowa.

## History

SBI Route 17 originally ran from Lacon to Grant Park. The only changes to Route 17 have been extensions east and west, and a relocation to a new road south of Streator.
Illinois Route 83A connected Illinois Route 83 (now Illinois Route 17) to Keithsburg.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Mercer | New Boston | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1st Street (Mississippi River) | Western terminus |
| Mercer | ​ | 1.5 | 2.4 | Great River Road north | West end of GRR overlap |
| Mercer | ​ | 4.0 | 6.4 | Great River Road south | East end of GRR overlap |
| Mercer | Aledo | 14.5 | 23.3 | IL 94 south (College Avenue) | West end of IL 94 overlap |
| Mercer | Aledo | 15.4 | 24.8 | IL 94 north (Northeast 15th Avenue) | East end of IL 94 overlap |
| Mercer | Viola | 23.1 | 37.2 | US 67 (13th Street) | |
| Henry | ​ | 33.9 | 54.6 | US 150 north | West end of US 150 overlap |
| Henry | ​ | 35.4 | 57.0 | US 150 south | East end of US 150 overlap |
| Henry | Woodhull | 37.9 | 61.0 | I-74 / IL 110 (CKC) – Moline, Galesburg | I-74 exit 32 |
| Henry | Nekoma | 46.3 | 74.5 | IL 82 north | |
| Henry | ​ | 47.8 | 76.9 | US 34 west | West end of US 34 overlap |
| Henry | Galva | 53.9 | 86.7 | US 34 (2nd Street) | East end of US 34 overlap |
| Knox | ​ | 57.9 | 93.2 | IL 180 south | |
| Stark | ​ | 64.0 | 103.0 | IL 78 north | West end of IL 78 overlap |
| Stark | ​ | 64.5 | 103.8 | IL 78 south | East end of IL 78 overlap |
| Stark | Toulon | 68.0 | 109.4 | IL 91 north (Union Street) | West end of IL 91 overlap |
| Stark | Wyoming | 74.0 | 119.1 | IL 91 south (7th Street) | East end of IL 91 overlap |
| Stark | ​ | 80.6 | 129.7 | IL 40 north | West end of IL 40 overlap |
| Marshall | ​ | 85.1 | 137.0 | IL 40 south | East end of IL 40 overlap |
| Marshall | Sparland | 95.3 | 153.4 | IL 29 north (Railroad Street) | West end of IL 29 overlap |
| Marshall | Sparland | 95.6 | 153.9 | IL 29 south (Railroad Street) | East end of IL 29 overlap |
| Marshall | Illinois River | 96.7 | 155.6 | Lacon Bridge | Lacon Bridge |
| Marshall | Lacon | 97.2 | 156.4 | IL 26 (Prairie Street) | |
| Marshall | ​ | 106.5 | 171.4 | IL 89 (2160 East Road) | |
| Marshall | ​ | 111.5 | 179.4 | IL 117 south (2650 East Road) | |
| Marshall | ​ | 115.6 | 186.0 | I-39 / US 51 – Bloomington-Normal, Rockford | I-39 exit 35 |
| LaSalle | ​ | 116.0 | 186.7 | IL 251 south (East 6th Road) | West end of IL 251 overlap |
| LaSalle | Wenona | 118.1 | 190.1 | IL 251 north (Chestnut Street) | East end of IL 251 overlap |
| Livingston | ​ | 129.4 | 208.2 | IL 23 (North 500 East Road) | |
| Livingston | ​ | 138.2 | 222.4 | IL 18 west (North 1200 East Road) | |
| Livingston | ​ | 141.2 | 227.2 | IL 170 (North 1500 East Road) | |
| Livingston | ​ | 151.2 | 243.3 | I-55 (Barack Obama Presidential Expressway) – Bloomington, Joliet | I-55 exit 217 |
| Livingston | Dwight | 151.8 | 244.3 | Historic US 66 – Joliet, Bloomington | |
| Livingston | Dwight | 152.8 | 245.9 | IL 47 (Union Street) | |
| Grundy | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 181.9 | 292.7 | IL 113 west (Wall Street) | |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 182.1 | 293.1 | Bridge over Kankakee River | Bridge over Kankakee River |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 182.2 | 293.2 | US 45 north / US 52 north (Kennedy Drive) | West end of US 45/US 52 overlap |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 182.7 | 294.0 | US 45 south / US 52 south (Washington Avenue) | East end of US 45/US 52 overlap |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 183.0 | 294.5 | IL 50 south (Indiana Avenue) | |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 183.1 | 294.7 | IL 50 north (Harrison Avenue) | |
| Kankakee | Kankakee | 184.3 | 296.6 | I-57 (Eastern Kankakee Bypass) – Chicago, Champaign | I-57 exit 312 |
| Kankakee | Sun River Terrace | 190.2 | 306.1 | IL 1 south (South 7500 East Road) | West end of IL 1 overlap |
| Kankakee | Momence | 195.5 | 314.6 | IL 114 east (Gladiolus Street) | |
| Kankakee | Grant Park | 203.0 | 326.7 | IL 1 north (County Road East 1241 North) | East end of IL 1 overlap |
| Lake | ​ | 209.4 | 337.0 | SR 2 east | Continuation into Indiana |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus ||||||