"Hidden" Routes in Illinois

[BlueNacho]

I have known for a while that IDOT maintains many roads (EOH, Palitine road, ETC) that are not signed with a state highway. I believe many have a designation such as FAU or FAP. However, I have a couple of questions about these routes that I can't find the answers to with google.

1. The Elgin O'Hare Expressway is known as FAP 345. Is calling it State Route 345 (as in the map at http://www.roselle.il.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=173) considered proper?

2. Is there a map or even a list of unsigned state highways in Illinois?

Thanks,

Blue Nacho

[rmsandw]

No map that I have come across.  I find looking for the state highways that are not posted with the standard Illinois highway marker, but have a number assigned to it via the state highway rural mile marker (white square with green circle) in it, across Illinois.  So far I have come across...

#901 Peoria County
#902 Peoria County
#903 Macoupin County
#903 Peoria County
#904 Peoria County
#905 Peoria County
#907 Peoria County
#909 Stark County
#910 Tazewell County
#911 Peoria County
#911 Union/Jackson Counties
#913 Jackson County
#921 Macoupin County
#926 Macoupin County
#936 Pulaski/Union Counties
#939 Pike County
#1067 Warren County (actually markered along U.S. 67)
#8015 Jefferson County
#8131 Edwards County
#8677 Coles County
#8699 Crawford County
#8958 Knox County
#8963 Warren County
#8964 Warren County
#8967 Warren County

Then there is what is marked on street signs as "State Hwy 967" south of Jacksonville.
Plus from U.S. 136 north to Armington, the highway is posted as "Spur 136A" with white rectangle signs from IDOT.

There is one road that I plan on checking this summer.  Google calls it "State Hwy 522", On U.S. 136 it is posted with white shields like the EOE saying "Carman Road".

[Alps]

FAP routes are not state highway numbers.

[NE2]

But some states may have used their state highway numbers for FAP designations.

[3467]

I think a lot of those are old routes For instance the Warren County routes are probably old sections of US 34 and US 67.
The state milage in Illinois is a couple of thousand miles longer than the US and Illinois routes

[Revive 755]

In Illinois, baring some fluke route I have not found yet, the only routes that have a federal aid numbering matching the posted route number are the interstates.

As for a list or map of every unsigned state route, if there's one out there for the general public it will likely be buried somewhere in one of the manuals on the IDOT website.

[Brandon]

I have known for a while that IDOT maintains many roads (EOH, Palitine road, ETC) that are not signed with a state highway. I believe many have a designation such as FAU or FAP. However, I have a couple of questions about these routes that I can't find the answers to with google.

1. The Elgin O'Hare Expressway is known as FAP 345. Is calling it State Route 345 (as in the map at http://www.roselle.il.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=173) considered proper?

Absolutely not.  The FAP stands for "Federal Aid Primary".  We also have FAS (Federal Aid Secondary), FAI (Federal Aid Interstate), SBI (State Bond Issue), and other categories of roads according to IDOT.  These may or may not match the number on them.  Only the FAIs and older SBIs match the posted route number.

[BlueNacho]

Hello again,

I did some searching and pulled up full maps of the state highway system at http://www.dot.il.gov/maps/generalmaps1.html. It even contains county highway systems, which in cook county, are unsigned and hard to find.

As far as state highway 522 goes, I checked the state highway map and it's only labeled as FAP 522.

[NE2]

Hello again,

I did some searching and pulled up full maps of the state highway system at http://www.dot.il.gov/maps/generalmaps1.html. It even contains county highway systems, which in cook county, are unsigned and hard to find.

These don't appear to have the unsigned numbers that rmsandw posted.

Also note that federal aid highways are not always state-maintained.

[HandsomeRob]

I was on my way back to Madison, WI from the Leitchfield, KY area yesterday, and I found another one of these unsigned Illinois state highways. Our directions had us turn right in Dieterich, IL towards Mattoon onto a local road, which turned out to be signed as state highway 8030 on the mile marker signs. So add "8030" as a state highway from State Highway 121 to at least Dieterich, and possibly further south as well.

[Stratuscaster]

1. The Elgin O'Hare Expressway is known as FAP 345. Is calling it State Route 345 (as in the map at http://www.roselle.il.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=173) considered proper?

The Elgin-O'Hare Expressway is official signed as Illinois 390 today - and has been for some time now.

[ajlynch91]

There are many, many examples of these and I want to catalog them all. That being said, most state roads have absolutely no number whatsoever. The list of roads maintained by IDOT in Cook County alone is hard to keep track of. But a significant amount of old alignments and roads that, for whatever reason, were never numbered across the state, and I want to find (and number) them all.

[kphoger]

#8963 Warren County

Well, it looks like Google Maps un-hid this route!

[ilpt4u]

I'm pretty sure Herrin Rd in Williamson County has the IDOT Reference/Mileage Markers along it. I don't remember what route number is signed on the markers, tho. I might drive out that way some time and grab a picture

Found one of those Reference Markers on GSV, but its fuzzy. Its 90X, maybe 908?

https://goo.gl/maps/r2TQwxToVDkJMGhy7

[3467]

That is old old 34. I think IDOT  only maintains to where it turns North at  Warren School road. 67 south of Monmouth now has an end state maintenance sign.
And Since this is an old thread most know 390 belongs to the tollway.

[edwaleni]

I was on my way back to Madison, WI from the Leitchfield, KY area yesterday, and I found another one of these unsigned Illinois state highways. Our directions had us turn right in Dieterich, IL towards Mattoon onto a local road, which turned out to be signed as state highway 8030 on the mile marker signs. So add "8030" as a state highway from State Highway 121 to at least Dieterich, and possibly further south as well.

t

a.k.a the "Dieterich Blacktop" between Dieterich and Clay City, and Montrose Road north of Montrose.

We used this as our personal 'Effingham Bypass' when going to Champaign-Urbana & Chicago back in the late 60's early 70's.

IL-130 went through too many small towns including Charleston. 

When they finally finished I-57 north of Effingham and south of Pesotum, we used this route to catch it going north. Saved a lot of time.

[kphoger]

I'm pretty sure Herrin Rd in Williamson County has the IDOT Reference/Mileage Markers along it. I don't remember what route number is signed on the markers, tho. I might drive out that way some time and grab a picture

Found one of those Reference Markers on GSV, but its fuzzy. Its 90X, maybe 908?

https://goo.gl/maps/r2TQwxToVDkJMGhy7

I can confirm.  It's posted as 908 all the way to at least I-57.  When I was a delivery driver there, I lived in Herrin and worked out of a warehouse on Herrin-Colp Road, so I was on that road pretty much every day.

[hobsini2]

#8963 Warren County

Well, it looks like Google Maps un-hid this route!

Found this in the field on streetview. Probably where Google got it from.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.9200482,-90.6176747,3a,15.4y,319.59h,86.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2C4kEmPzQDRd_xsbz8Lapw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

[kphoger]

Found this in the field on streetview. Probably where Google got it from.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.9200482,-90.6176747,3a,15.4y,319.59h,86.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2C4kEmPzQDRd_xsbz8Lapw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

But those signs are all over the whole state, on dozens of roads.  Someone added this label.