Historic US Highway endpoints in Rock Island, IL
Photo credits: Monte
Castleman; Jake; Jeff Morrison
Additional research: Jason
Hancock; Jeff
Morrison; Miles Rich
| Highway | Approx. time period |
|---|---|
| US 67 | 1930-1934 |
| US 32 | 1932-1934 |
| US 150 | 1934-1977 |
In 1930 the US 67 designation was extended north to its junction with US 6 in Rock Island. It came in on 11th Street, then turned east on 3rd Avenue, ending where it met US 32 at 24th Street. But in November 1931, all of US 32 in Iowa was decommissioned, replaced by US 6. That left only the segment from Chicago to the Iowa border at Rock Island. US 32 came in on 5th Avenue, then turned north on 24th St, and ended at 3rd Av, where it met US 67 (see 1934 map below):
scan by Morrison
That was scanned by Jeff Morrison, and it shows US 32 in its last year of existence. However, also in 1934, the US 150 designation was extended into the Quad Cities. Its westernmost segment was co-signed with US 6 along the former US 32, and it ended at the same place. The photos below show that intersection as it appears today; this first one is looking north on 24th:
Castleman, Aug. 2004
Things here have changed a lot. Today this is westbound IL hwy. 92, which curves to the left ahead. But that highway hadn't been built yet in the 1930s, nor was the roadway raised up on this abutment. This was US 6 and US 32; US 67 came in from the left via 3rd (which now ends in the cul-de-sac just visible at far left). US 6 veered right at the sign in the distance, over the bridge to Rock Island Arsenal. There it crossed the main channel of the Mississippi River, entering Iowa via the Government Bridge. US 32 would've been signed at least to this point, but any signs between here and the stateline probably would've been left in place until the route was decommissioned.
That same year, US 150 was extended to this point. So here's one more shot from 3rd and 24th:
Castleman, Aug. 2004
That's looking west on 3rd from 24th. Ahead was the south beginning of US 67. To the right was westbound US 6, and maybe US 32 until 1934, but probably not US 150. To the left was eastbound US 6, US 32 until 1934, and the west beginning of US 150 after 1934.
Jeff writes about some further changes that took place later on, after US 67 had been extended further north:
"I believe US 67's alignment switched from 3rd Ave. and 9th St. (as seen on the map above) to its current alignment of 11th St. and a one-way pair of 4th and 5th Aves. in 1940 (as seen on the 1953 map scan below)":
scan by Hancock
From 1940 until 1977, US 150 connected with US 67 via the 4th/5th Avenue couplet. The photo below is facing west on 4th Ave. at 15th St. (US 67):
Morrison
Miles Rich, who grew up there in the '50s, recalls that signage during that time actually directed US 150 traffic to continue to the right (north), across the Centennial Bridge with US 67. Today there's still an interesting sign on the Bridge that dates back to that timeframe:
Jake, July
2008
Jake explains this is an original sign from when the bridge was opened to traffic in 1940. Miles recalls that there was also a US 150 sign there during the '50s. When the bridge was renovated in 1996, two old white guide signs were removed and replaced with more standard green ones. But instead of replacing this shield, they painted it green (presumably to match the new guide signs) and put it back up! I'm not sure if that's when the US 150 sign was removed, or if it had already been removed back in 1977 (when US 150 was truncated to Moline). Miles says that there were no US 150 signs on the Iowa side of the river heading northbound - instead, there were IA 150 signs, up until 1969 (which is when the DoT changed that highway to IA 130). Heading southbound, it was IA 150 signs that directed traffic onto the Bridge, but as soon as you were on the bridge, a US 150 sign was posted (along with US 67). This was before you reached the toll plaza, so it was still on the Iowa side... which perhaps explains why a 1955 route log lists "Davenport" as US 150's terminus (rather than "Rock Island").
The photo below is facing east on 5th Ave, which carries northbound US 67. Today US 67 continues to the left on 15th St:
Morrison
Until 1970, that was also US 150. Straight ahead on 5th was where US 150 split off from US 67 and begin life on its own. The shot below is looking north on 15th St:
Morrison
US 150 came in from the right on 4th, then turned away from the camera on 15th. It continued onto the Centennial Bridge in the distance, but then quietly became IA 150 just before landing on Iowa soil.