U.S. Route 34 in Illinois

U.S. Route 34
Walter Payton Memorial Highway
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length:	211.37 mi (340.17 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 34 in Gladstone
	US 67 / IL 110 (CKC) / IL 164 in Monmouth US 150 in Galesburg I-74 / IL 110 (CKC) in Galesburg US 6 / IL 26 in Princeton US 52 in Mendota I-39 / US 51 in Mendota US 30 in Montgomery I-355 in Downers Grove I-294 in Western Springs US 12 / US 20 / US 45 in LaGrange
East end:	IL 43 in Berwyn
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← IL 33 IL 34 → ← IL 27 IL 28 IL 29 →

U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west highway In the state of Illinois that runs from the Iowa state line at Gulfport, west of Galesburg, to Illinois Route 43 (IL 43) and Historic U.S. Route 66 at Harlem Avenue in Berwyn. The entire highway in Illinois is named the Walter Payton Memorial Highway after Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton, who wore #34 for the Chicago Bears. The highway is 211.37 miles (340.17 km) long within the state.

The bridge into Iowa over the Mississippi River is called the Great River Bridge. Between Monmouth and Galesburg, the highway is up to Interstate Highway standards with exits at Main Street, Henderson Street, and Seminary Street in Galesburg.

In 1934, US 34 absorbed what had been the last remaining section of US 32.

US 34 formerly overlapped US 66 all the way to its endpoint in downtown Chicago, but was truncated to its intersection with US 66 and IL 43 in Berwyn in 1970. When US 66 was subsequently eliminated, the endpoint of US 34 was left at that location—the intersection of Ogden and Harlem Avenues in Berwyn. Due to the elimination of US 66, it is one of the few US Numbered Highways that ends at a state highway. With the re-signing of much of Historic US 66, the history of US 34's eastern endpoint is becoming much more clear.

...
Wikipedia