# Illinois Route 3

Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) is a 187.44-mile-long (301.66 km) major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction (about four miles (6.4 km) north of Cairo) at the intersection of U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and Illinois Route 37, and its northern terminus in Grafton at IL 100.

## Route description

The majority of IL 3 has four lanes from Waterloo to Godfrey, with brief six-lane stretches from the entrance to the McKinley Bridge in Venice to near the River's Edge area (formerly the Army Depot) in Granite City and near Alton Square Mall in Alton, as well as a brief two-laned section between its separation from I-55, I-64, and US 40 in East St. Louis and Venice. It is also two-laned the majority of the southern part from Waterloo to Cairo near areas of the Shawnee National Forest, as well as the northern portion from Godfrey to Grafton. It briefly overlaps IL 111 at Alton, I-255 and US 50, and IL 127 north of Cache.
IL 3 parallels the Mississippi River for the entire length of its journey, and it carries the Illinois portion of the Great River Road for most of its length. South of St. Louis, I-55 is its parallel on the west side of the river, along with US 61. The road runs along many historical sites along the Mississippi River, and is the closest Illinois state highway to the old state capital of Kaskaskia.

## History
### Original 1918 route

The original IL 3 route went from Chester in southern Illinois to Morrison in northwest Illinois via Rock Island. With the completion of highway bridges over the Mississippi River (e.g. Clark Bridge at Alton) U.S. Route 67 (US 67) was extended from St. Louis to Godfrey and replaced the original IL 3 to Rock Island. Today, this route is still the major north–south corridor for western Illinois—and the only major Illinois north–south route never converted to the Interstate Highway System like I-57, I-55, or I-39.

### Current route

On August 4, 1976, the new Berm Highway from Wood River to Alton was opened. It was signed as IL 3, which left the old alignment on Lewis and Clark Boulevard and Broadway unmarked. However, on June 29, 1987, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) built the new Madison Avenue extension in Wood River and marked that road and the Berm Highway as IL 143 and truncated IL 3 at IL 143 (highway signage and IDOT planning maps suggested otherwise, however). This new terminus for Route 3 was short-lived, however.
On November 26, 1987, a new section of Homer M. Adams Parkway in Alton opened to traffic, and IL 3 was extended onto Lewis and Clark Boulevard (a former IL 3 alignment) back into Alton and onto the extension. IL 3 was then cosigned with IL 111 until the intersection with Godfrey Road, where IL 3 takes over the former IL 100 alignment.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Alexander | Cairo | 0.8 | 1.3 | | Great River Road / Lincoln Heritage Trail south / US 51 / I-57 – Sikeston Mo., Mount Vernon | IDOT signs this as southern terminus; southern end of Great River Road/Lincoln Heritage Trail overlap; I-57 exit 1; highway continues as US 51/GRR/LHT south |
| Alexander | Olive Branch | | | | Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area, Miller City | |
| Alexander | ​ | 8.5 | 13.7 | | IL 127 north – Jonesboro, Mounds | |
| Alexander | McClure | 26.0 | 41.8 | | IL 146 west – Cape Girardeau | Southern end of IL 146 overlap |
| Union | Ware | 37.7 | 60.7 | | IL 146 east / Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) spur – Jonesboro, Lincoln-Douglas Debate Site | Northern end of IL 146 overlap |
| Jackson | Grand Tower | 51.3 | 82.6 | | Great River Road Spur north (Grand Tower Road) – River Access, Devils Backbone Park, Business District | |
| Jackson | ​ | 53.0 | 85.3 | | Great River Road Spur south (Power Plant Road) – River Access, Devils Backbone Park | |
| Jackson | ​ | | | | Gorham Road - Gorham, Neunert, Jacob | State maintained |
| Jackson | ​ | 60.6 | 97.5 | | IL 149 east – Murphysboro, Carbondale, Lake Murphysboro State Park | |
| Jackson | ​ | 65.0 | 104.6 | | IL 151 north – Lake Kinkaid, Ava, Johnson Creek Recreational Area | |
| Randolph | ​ | 80.6 | 129.7 | | Great River Road (National Route) north (Truck Bypass) – River Bridge | Northern end of Great River Road overlap; state maintained |
| Randolph | Chester | 83.4 | 134.2 | | IL 150 west (State Street) – River Bridge, Penitentiary | Southern end of IL 150 overlap |
| Randolph | Chester | 83.6 | 134.5 | | IL 150 east (State Street) – Steeleville | Northern end of IL 150 overlap |
| Randolph | Chester | 83.9 | 135.0 | | Great River Road Spur begins / Jefferson Street | Southern end of Great River Road Spur overlap |
| Randolph | Chester | 84.2 | 135.5 | | Great River Road Spur ends / Great River Road south (Truck Bypass) – River Bridge, Penitentiary | Northern end of Great River Road Spur overlap; southern end of Great River Road overlap |
| Randolph | ​ | 89.8 | 144.5 | | Great River Road Spur (Shawneetown Trail) – Fort Kaskaskia Historic Site, Pierre Menard Home, Randolph County Conservation Area | State maintained to Fort Kaskaskia |
| Randolph | ​ | | | | Roots Road - River Ferry, Modoc, Kaskaskia Lock and Dam, Fort de Chartres Historic Site | State maintained |
| Randolph | Ruma | 103.1 | 165.9 | | IL 155 west / Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) north / Great River Road Spur – Prairie du Rocher, Fort de Chartres Historic Site, River Ferry | Northern end of Lincoln Heritage Trail overlap |
| Randolph | Red Bud | 108.6 | 174.8 | | IL 154 east (Market Street) / IL 159 north (Main Street) – Belleville, Sparta | |
| Monroe | ​ | | | | Kaskaskia Road - Burksville, Renault, Illinois Caverns State Natural Area | |
| Monroe | Waterloo | 122.2 | 196.7 | | IL 156 (Park Street) – Fairgrounds, Wartburg, Maeystown, Valmeyer | |
| Monroe | Columbia | 129.5 | 208.4 | | IL 158 east – Belleville | Interchange |
| Monroe | Columbia | 133.1 | 214.2 | — | Quarry Road / Palmer Road | South end of freeway |
| Monroe | Columbia | 134.3 | 216.1 | — | I-255 south / US 50 west (J.B. Bridge) – St. Louis County, Memphis, Tulsa | Southern end of I-255/US 50 overlap; I-255 exit 6 |
| St. Clair | Dupo | 136.5 | 219.7 | 9 | Dupo | Exit number follows I-255 |
| St. Clair | Dupo | 137.4 | 221.1 | — | I-255 north / US 50 east – Chicago | North end of freeway; northern end of I-255/US 50 overlap; I-255 exit 10 |
| St. Clair | Cahokia Heights | 141.2 | 227.2 | | IL 157 north (Camp Jackson Road) – Nicholas Jarrot Mansion, Holy Family Church | |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 144.2– 144.8 | 232.1– 233.0 | — | I-55 south / I-64 west / US 40 west to I-70 west / I-44 – St. Louis | South end of freeway; I-55 north/I-64 east exit 1; former I-70 west |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 144.2– 144.8 | 232.1– 233.0 | — | 13th Street / Tudor Avenue | No southbound entrance |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 144.2– 144.8 | 232.1– 233.0 | — | Barack Obama Avenue – East St. Louis, Business District, Casino Queen | Formerly Fourth Street; northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 144.2– 144.8 | 232.1– 233.0 | — | I-64 / US 40 west / I-55 south – St. Louis | South end of I-55/I-64/US 40 concurrency; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance; I-55 south/I-64 west exit 1; former I-70 west |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 145.7 | 234.5 | 2A | Third Street – Eads Bridge, Casino Queen | Exit numbers follow I-55/I-64; southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 146.0 | 235.0 | 2B-C | Martin Luther King Bridge – Downtown St. Louis | Signed as exits 2B (left exit) and 2C (right exit); no northbound exits |
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 146.2– 146.8 | 235.3– 236.3 | | I-55 / Great River Road north / I-70 / US 40 east – Chicago, Indianapolis I-64 east – Louisville | North end of freeway; northern end of I-55/I-64/US 40/Great River Road overlap; I-55 north exit 3, south exit 3A; I-64 exit 3; I-70 east exit 3 |
| St. Clair | Fairmont City | | | | Packers Avenue to I-55 north / I-64 east / I-70 | Interchange via connector road; I-70 exit 2 |
| Madison | Venice | 151.1 | 243.2 | | McKinley Bridge – St. Louis | State maintained |
| Madison | Granite City | 158.4 | 254.9 | | Historic US 66 east (Chain of Rocks Road) | Southern end of Historic US 66 overlap; state maintained |
| Madison | Granite City | 158.6 | 255.2 | | I-270 / Great River Road south / Historic US 66 west – St. Charles, Effingham | Southern end of Great River Road overlap; I-270 exit 3; northern end of Historic US 66 overlap |
| Madison | Hartford | 161.6 | 260.1 | | Meeting of the Great Rivers begins / Great River Road Spur (New Poag Road) – Lewis and Clark Historic Site, SIUE Campus | Southern end of Meeting of the Great Rivers overlap; New Poag Rd. south is former US 67 south |
| Madison | Hartford | | | | Hawthorne Street – Hartford | State maintained |
| Madison | Wood River | 165.6 | 266.5 | | Great River Road / Meeting of the Great Rivers north / IL 143 – Alton, Riverfront, Wood River, Business District | Northern end of Great River Road/Meeting of the Great Rivers overlap |
| Madison | Alton | 169.3 | 272.5 | | IL 111 south / IL 140 (College Avenue) – Bethalto | Interchange; southern end of IL 111 overlap |
| Madison | Godfrey | 173.0 | 278.4 | | IL 111 north (Godfrey Road) to US 67 / State Street – Clark Bridge, Lewis and Clark Community College, Jacksonville | Northern end of IL 111 overlap |
| Jersey | ​ | 182.0 | 292.9 | | IL 109 north – Jerseyville | |
| Jersey | Grafton | 190.0 | 305.8 | | IL 100 / Great River Road / Meeting of the Great Rivers | Northern terminus; road continues south as Market Street |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access |||||||