Quad Cities to La Salle–Peru US 6 crosses the
I-74 Bridge from
Bettendorf, Iowa, south into
Moline,
concurrent with
Interstate 74 (I-74). It remains with I-74 for until the intersection with
I-280 south of the
Rock River, where it continues south, then turns east at
Quad Cities International Airport. It intersects
I-80 as it leaves the Quad Cities area and closely parallels I-80 for the rest of its length in Illinois. From the Quad Cities, US 6 travels east through the city of
Geneseo. At
Sheffield, US 6 overlaps
US 34 through to
Princeton. After an interchange with
I-180, US 6 runs with
Illinois Route 89 (IL 89) to
Spring Valley. In the
La Salle–
Peru area, US 6 intersects with
IL 251,
IL 351 and
I-39/
US 51.
La Salle–Peru to Joliet US 6 then runs past
Ottawa, intersecting with the concurrent
IL 23/
IL 71 before joining with IL 71 for . Further east, US 6 runs through
Marseilles and
Seneca, where
IL 170 terminates. It then runs through
Morris and overlaps
IL 47 for a slight northward jog. At
Channahon, US 6 has an interchange with
I-55.
Joliet to Indiana In the
Joliet area, US 6 parallels the
Des Plaines River and passes beneath the
cantilever bridge carrying I-80 over the Des Plaines River. At this point, it is called Railroad Street, but it turns onto McDonough Street with
US 52 as it crosses the river. It then turns north, overlapping
IL 53 (Chicago Street) and then east with
US 30 (Cass Street). Two blocks north of leaving US 30, US 6 intersects the southern terminus of
IL 171 and turns east onto Maple Road. In
New Lenox, it intersects with
I-355 and becomes
Southwest Highway. US 6 turns off Southwest Highway in
Orland Park, heads north on Wolf Road briefly, then turns east onto
159th Street, a major east–west arterial through that town and the southern suburbs of
Chicago. In
Calumet City, US 6 joins with
IL 83 south to the I-80/
I-94 (
Kingery Expressway) and then follows the Kingery east into
Indiana. Although US 6 enters the
Chicago metropolitan area, it never enters the city limits of Chicago. ==History==