Skip to main content

A quick Illinois and Wisconsin Road Trip

Image
By
Recently, I was in the Chicago area and was able to explore the area north of Chicago and Wisconsin in my downtime.  I pretty much did a loop that consisted of Interstate 94, Interstate 43, US 12, Illinois Route 120, and Illinois Route 60.  It was my first real time exploring the area.  I ended up gaining an additional five counties on the trip bringing my total to just short of 1100, 1099 to be exact.

For the entire flickr set of photos for this trip, please head here.

Just prior to entering Wisconsin on Interstate 94, you will come across this sign.  Out of nowhere, Interstate 41 appears.  And if you aren't hip to changes on your map, Interstate 41 is a rather recently new interstate that runs from Green Bay to just about a mile inside the Illinois border.  Interstate 41 is an upgraded routing of the US 41 freeway that runs from Milwaukee to Green Bay; however, it was added along Interstate's 894 and 94 South of Milwaukee to where US 41 leaves I-94.  In fact, throughout the section of I-94 in Wisconsin that I drove along you'll find these signs.

In case you're confused by which 41 is which - these signs are here to help.

Along the way, I stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle.  This cheese shop - which now has a castle themed exterior - has been around since 1947.  It is home to numerous cheeses, meats, wines, and beers.  There's even a restaurant and bar.


From there, I continued north towards Milwaukee to Interstate 894.  Where I exited 94 and headed west.  Interestingly, the overhead signs for I-894 read Bypass.  I like the designation.

I then would take I-43 South away from Milwaukee and then take US 12 towards Illinois. US 12 is a freeway from I-43 south (though US 12 reads east) towards the Illinois state line.  Just prior to the Illinois state line, the US 12 freeway comes to an abrupt end - as shown in the photos below.




There is a ghost stub for the never built extension of the US 12 freeway in Illinois.
Walworth County Route H was the original routing of US 12 prior to the freeway's construction.
This freeway was to continue in Illinois and connect to the Illinois Tollway System (1), but as you can see nothing has happened.  In fact, US 12 enters Illinois as a sleepy two lane road.

I followed US 12 to IL 120 and then to IL 60 to my hotel.   I did enjoy the Wisconsin scenery alongI-43 and also was surprised how straight I-94 is in Wisconsin.  If my travels bring me back to the area again, I would like to check out Racine and Kenosha more.  The Frank Lloyd Wright S.C. Johnson headquarters building in Racine being on the list to see.

Sources:
Labels:

Comments

Gerry said…
I don't know why, but I like the American street sign so much more than the European :) Did you ever do a road trip between Washington and Arizona? Me and my girlfriend want to start our first big road trip there. I got this idea from my horoscope, and my girlfriend wants to head western. Any tips? We would be grateful :) Since now, we only made trips in Europe.
Gerry
3:34 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Vague Original Southern Terminus of US Route 91 in the Californian Mojave Desert

By
From a modern standpoint, the routing of Interstate 15 between Barstow to the Nevada state line is very clear.  Historically regarding US Route 91 this wasn't the case as the hostile and barren parts of the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County had few good roadways.   In 1920 the Arrowhead Trail commissioned the Silver Lake Cutoff from Las Vegas southwest to Daggett.  The Silver Lake Cutoff saved 90 miles of travel from the original highway corridor by using an alignment utilizing Jean, Goodsprings, Ripley, Kingston and Silver Lake.  Although the Silver Lake Cutoff existed during the early development of the US Route System it was far more haggard than the original Arrowhead Trail alignment south of Las Vegas through Searchlight and Bannock.  During the planning phase of the US Route System the southern terminus of US Route 91 was to be located at US Route 60 (later US Route 66) in Bannock, California to the west of Needles.  When the US Route Sys...
Post a Comment
Read more

The James Dean Memorial Junction interchange (California State Routes 41 and 46)

By
The James Dean Memorial Junction interchange structure opened during June 2025 as a grade separation between California State Routes 41 and 46 in Cholame Valley.  This interchange structure is located a short distance eastward from the infamous 1955 crash site which took the life of actor and racecar driver James Dean.  The crash site was once a Y-junction between US Route 466 and California State Route 41 which was reconfigured in 1959.  This blog will examine the history of the highway junction in Cholame Valley from stage route times through the US Route 466-era and into construction period of the current interchange. Part 1; the history of James Dean Memorial Junction James Dean Memorial Junction is located in Cholame Valley of eastern San Luis Obispo County.  Long before the existence of the State Highway System this valley has served as the junction for the highways crossing Polonio Pass and Cottonwood Pass in the Temblor Range.  The so-called Lemoore Road...
Post a Comment
Read more