![]() Four miles later, they enter Marquette County, pass through it and then run through Waushara County into Portage County, where I-39/US 51 take a due north route. The highway joins the interstate, and both turn north. After I-39 crosses the Wisconsin River again, it turns northeasterly and an interchange with US 51. This is the start of the highway segment that carries I-39 alone. ![]() Three miles north of the river, I-39 leaves the concurrency with I-90/I-94 and turns northward the other two interstates turn to the northwest. The combined interstate highways cross the Wisconsin River. I-39/I-90 bypass Madison to the east, and the highways are then joined by I-94 at the eastern terminus of WIS 30 (which is known as the Badger Interchange). The highways gradually turn northward again and meet US 12 and US 18 in Madison. The highways gradually turn to the west around Utica to an interchange with CTH-N, which provides motorists access to Stoughton and Cottage Grove. The combined highways enter Dane County, passing west of Lake Koshkonong. The highway continues generally to the north, and crosses the Rock River. The combined I-39/I-90 bypasses Janesville to the east however, there are two interchanges that access the town. East of Beloit, there is an I-39/I-90 interchange that is the end for both WIS 81 (which heads westward into Beloit), and I-43, which travels to Milwaukee. I-39 enters Wisconsin from Illinois concurrently with I-90, passing under County Trunk Highway P and bypasses Beloit to the east. In Wisconsin, I-39 is 182 miles long, which is longer than the highway’s length in Illinois. The designation of I-39 in Wisconsin violated the state’s rule of not having any state trunk highway number duplicated (whether by an interstate, US Route or state highway), because WIS 39 already existed. While concurrent, I-39/I-90 run north to South Beloit. I-39/US 20 travel east to the point where the interstate joins the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and I-90 near Cherry Valley. Continuing northward, I-39 crosses the Kishwaukee River and then meets US 20 on Rockford’s southside. It intersects I-80 at exit 59 and intersects I-88 at exit 97 in Rochelle. Just north of the Illinois River, I-39 runs to the east of LaSalle and Peru. The bridge is 1.3 miles long and has the distinction of being the state’s longest bridge. The highway crosses the Illinois River about 55 miles north of Normal via the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge. I-74 South runs toward Indianapolis.įrom Normal, I-39 runs northward, largely through rural areas. From its intersection with I-39, Interstate 55 runs to either Chicago or St. ![]() The interstate’s southern end is less than one mile from I-74 as I-74 travels around the city of Normal. The highway begins north of the Bloomington-Normal metro area at I-55. With the exception of one mile of roadway in the state, I-39 is designated concurrently with US 51. In Illinois, I-39 has a total length of 140.82 miles. The interstate begins on the north side of Normal, Illinois, at I-55 and runs to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin (approximately 6 miles south of Wausau). Primarily a route through rural areas, I-39 serves as a bypass around the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. At the time of the series of wrecks, there was “wintry weather.” A 30-mile stretch of the interstate was closed because of the accidents. According to the Illinois State Police, the crash scene was several hundred yards long and involved about 100 vehicles. On February 17, a multi-vehicle “mass collision” occurred on I-39 near El Paso, Illinois. Today’s article profiles I-39, which serves two states in the Midwest – Illinois and Wisconsin. The series began with a profile of Interstate 2 (I-2) and has covered each interstate in numerical order. This is the latest in a FreightWaves Classics series about the U.S.
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