Illinois Route 157 is a north–south highway in southwestern Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Its southern terminus is at Illinois Route 3

Illinois Route 3

Illinois Route 3 is a major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction at the intersection of Interstate 57 and U.S. Route 51, and its northern terminus in Grafton at Illinois Route 100...

 at Cahokia

Cahokia, Illinois

Cahokia is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 16,391. The name is a reference to one of the clans of the historic Illini confederacy, who were encountered by early French explorers to the region.Early European settlers also...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 and its northern terminus at Illinois Route 140

Illinois Route 140

Illinois Route 140 is an east–west highway with its western terminus at Alton and its eastern terminus at Illinois Route 185 and U.S. Route 40 in Vandalia. It also overlaps Illinois Route 111 in Alton and Illinois Route 127 in Greenville...

 in Hamel

Hamel, Illinois

Hamel is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 570 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Illinois Metro-East portion of the Greater St...

. This is a distance of 35.5 miles (57.13 km).

Route description

Illinois 157 overlaps Illinois Route 13

Illinois Route 13

Illinois Route 13 is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky Route 56. This is a distance of .- Route description :Illinois...

 and Illinois Route 163

Illinois Route 163

Illinois Route 163 is a north–south highway in southwestern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 158 in Millstadt north to Illinois Route 15 in Alorton; the route is located entirely within St. Clair County. Route 163 is maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation.- Route...

 in Centreville

Centreville, Illinois

Centreville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States of America. The population was 5,951 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Centreville is located at ....

 and Illinois Route 159

Illinois Route 159

Illinois Route 159 is a north–south state road in southwestern Illinois. Its southern terminus is at Illinois Route 3 and Illinois Route 154 in Red Bud and its northern terminus at Illinois Route 16 in Royal Lakes. This is a distance of ....

 and Illinois Route 143

Illinois Route 143

Illinois Route 143 is an east–west state highway in southwestern Illinois. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 67 in Alton. Its eastern terminus at Illinois Route 127 at a rural intersection west of Tamalco...

 in Edwardsville

Edwardsville, Illinois

Edwardsville is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,293. It is the county seat of Madison County and is the third oldest city in the State of Illinois. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois...

. Illinois 157 is the major north–south road through the busiest towns in Madison County

Madison County, Illinois

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. Madison County is part of the Metro-East region of the St. Louis Metro Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 269,282, which is an increase of 4.0% from 258,941 in 2000. The county seat is Edwardsville, home to...

 — Collinsville and Edwardsville.

The segment of road within the villages of Cahokia and Centreville from Illinois 3 to Illinois 13 is known as Camp Jackson Road.

The segment of road north from Illinois 13 to approximately Interstate 270

Interstate 270 (Illinois-Missouri)

Interstate 270 makes up a large portion of the outer belt freeway in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. The counterclockwise terminus of I-270 is at the junction with Interstate 55 in Mehlville, Missouri; the clockwise terminus of the freeway is at the junction with I-55 and I-70 north of...

 is known as Bluff Road, because it roughly follows the eastern bluffs of the Mississippi River which define the American Bottoms in Madison and St. Clair Counties of Illinois.

History

SBI Route 157 originally ran from Cahokia to Glen Carbon. It was then extended to the Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 state line at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge

Jefferson Barracks Bridge

The Jefferson Barracks Bridge, often called the J.B. Bridge, is a pair of bridges that span the Mississippi River on the south side of St. Louis, Missouri. Both bridges are long steel arch bridges. The first bridge was built in 1983, the south bridge opened in 1992...

 in 1946; this was undone by 1958. In 1965, the northern terminus was moved to Hamel, replacing Bypass U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...

, which itself was U.S. 66 proper prior to 1957.