INTERSTATE 39

• Number of Miles- 349
  • Illinois- 139 miles
  • Wisconsin- 210 miles
• Southern End- Normal, IL at I-55
• Northern End- Merrill, WI at US 51
• Major Cities Along the Route-
  • Normal, IL
  • Madison, WI
• Intersections with other Interstates
  • I-55 in Normal, IL
  • I-80 in La Salle, IL
  • The Western I-88 in Rochelle, IL
  • I-90 in Rockford, IL. They stay joined until Portage, WI
  • I-43 in Beloit, WI
  • I-94 in Madison, WI. They stay joined for 30 miles.
• Spur Routes- None

  Notes

  They recently changed I-39 so it routes along I-90 and I-94 through northern IL and southern WI. Then they gave Interstate status to about 100 miles of US 51. Since only the solo sections of I-39 appear to be signed, it is a matter of personal choice whether this is one not particularly useful road or two of them :)

  ---

  Well the question seemed to have been answered. I got this email from Jon Enslin:

  Also, the northern end does *not* go all the way to Merrill. About one mile south of Wausau you see a sign that says "End 39." The part through Wausau up to Merrill is not officially an interstate yet, but still US-51. I'm positive about this...just drove it last week.

  When on the phone with a WIDOT official, I found out that I-39 *will* have sinage from Rockford to the portion where it splits off toward Wausau. He also told me that I-39 in Illinois was originally supposed to be I-43 which then would have run along I-90 to Beloit where it would have caught up with the current I-43. That idea was rejected by ILDOT officials.

  Return to the Interstate List