U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40, also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain states to the Mid-Atlantic. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, US 40 once traversed the entire country. It is one of the first U.S. Highways created in 1926, and its original termini were in San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. US 40 ends at a junction with Interstate 80 in Silver Summit, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City. West of this point US 40 was functionally replaced with I-80, and as these segments of I-80 were constructed the western portion of US 40 was truncated several times.
Starting at its western terminus in Utah, US 40 crosses a total of 12 states, including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. US 40 passes through or by major cities including Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Baltimore, and Wilmington. Three former and four current state capitals lie along the route. For much of its route, US 40 runs parallel to, or concurrently with, several major Interstate Highways: I-70 from Denver, Colorado, to Washington, Pennsylvania; and again from Hancock, Maryland to Baltimore; I-64 in parts of Missouri and Illinois; I-68 along western Maryland; and I-95 from Baltimore to New Castle, Delaware.
The route was built on top of several older highways, most notably the National Road and the Victory Highway. The National Road was created in 1806 by an act of Congress to serve as the first federally funded highway construction project. When completed it connected Cumberland, Maryland, with Vandalia, Illinois. The Victory Highway was designated as a memorial to World War I veterans and ran from Kansas City, Missouri to San Francisco. Other important roads that have become part of US 40 include Zane's Trace in Ohio, Braddock Road in Maryland and Pennsylvania, part of the Black Horse Pike in New Jersey, part of the Oregon Trail in Kansas, and the Lincoln Highway throughout most of California.
Route description
Utah
The western terminus of US 40 is in Silver Summit, Utah, at an interchange with I-80, several miles north of Park City, at Silver Creek Junction. The road runs concurrently with US 189 until it has reached Heber City. US 40 is a limited access highway from the I-80 junction to its intersection with State Route 32, approximately south of Park City. From there, the road takes a generally southerly course to Heber City. In Heber City, there is an intersection with SR 113. One mile later, US 189 splits off. There are no more major intersections until US 40 has reached Fruitland, as it meets SR 208. About 18 miles later, the road enters Duchesne. In Duchesne, it meets US 191 and SR 87. US 40 passes Duchesne and starts a concurrency. The concurrency continues into Roosevelt, Fort Duchesne and Vernal. In Roosevelt, it meets SR 87 again in a five-point intersection. There are two intersections with SR 121, in Roosevelt and Vernal. In Fort Duchesne, there is an intersection with SR 88. After US 40 passes Vernal, US 191 splits off and the concurrency ends. After that, there are no more major intersections until US 40 reaches Naples, as it meets SR 45. About later, US 40 enters Jensen. In Jensen, there is an intersection with SR 149. About later, the road enters Colorado.Colorado
US 40 enters Colorado, west of Dinosaur. In Dinosaur, there is an intersection with State Highway 64. After passing Dinosaur, there are no more major intersections until US 40 reaches Maybell, as it meets with SH 318. Some later, the road enters Craig. In Craig, US 40 starts a very short concurrency with SH 13. After Craig, SH 13 splits off. The road then passes through Hayden without major intersections. Then it exits Hayden and enters Steamboat Springs. There is an intersection with SH 131 and SH 14. US 40 then continues southeast into Kremmling. In Kremmling, there is an intersection with SH 134 and SH 9. It then exits Kremmling and enters Granby. There is an intersection with US 34. The road then passes Fraser and Winter Park without major intersections. About later, US 40 starts a concurrency with I-70. About later, I-70 splits off. s later, it is concurrent again. later, I-70 splits off again. After the second concurrency with I-70, US 40 enters Denver.The road passes through downtown Denver on Colfax Avenue, and has intersections with SH 391, SH 121, SH 95, and SH 2 and an interchange with US 287. The route through Denver also serves as the business loop for I-70. East of Denver, US 40 passes through Aurora and becomes concurrent with I-70 once again. later, it enters Limon. In Limon, I-70 splits off; however, the road is still concurrent with US 287. There is an intersection with SH 71. US 40 then passes Hugo without major intersections. In Wild Horse, it meets SH 94. About later, the road enters Kit Carson. There is an intersection with SH 59. After Kit Carson, US 287 splits off and the concurrency ends. After that, there are no more major intersections until US 40 reaches Cheyenne Wells, as it meets US 385 in an interchange. The road then passes Arapahoe without major intersections. later, US 40 enters Kansas.
Kansas
US 40 enters Kansas near the unincorporated community of Weskan. The first sizable town it enters is Sharon Springs, where it intersects K-27. From there it goes northeast to Oakley and follows Eagle Eye Road before merging with I-70 east of town. The two routes remain merged until Topeka, although the prior alignment of US 40, named Old Highway 40, parallels I-70 for most of the way. From Ellsworth to Salina, the old alignment of US 40 is signed as K-140.In Topeka, US 40 leaves I-70 at exit 366, follows the Oakland Expressway concurrently with K-4 north to 6th Avenue, then heads east along 6th Avenue out of town. Through Topeka, US 40 closely follows the route of the Oregon Trail. At the Shawnee-Douglas county line near Big Springs, US 40 crosses to the south of I-70 and enters Lawrence from the west along West 6th Street. At the west side of Lawrence, the route is joined by K-10 and travels south and east to the junction with US 59 and then runs north with US 59 to cross the Kansas River. It follows North 2nd and North 3rd Streets, crosses back under I-70, leaves US 59, and merges with US 24 before leaving town.
US 40 remains merged with US 24 as the two routes travel northeast to the town of Tonganoxie. From there, the merged routes turn due east toward Kansas City, Kansas. In Kansas City, US 40 and US 24 intersect US 73 and K-7, and turn south toward I-70. US 40, along with US 24, then merge onto I-70 and recross the Kansas River over the Lewis and Clark Viaduct just before entering Kansas City, Missouri.
On December 1, 2008, US 40, along with US 24 and US 73, was rerouted south along K-7 west of Kansas City to the intersection with I-70. Before this date, US 40 and US 24 continued along State Avenue to College Parkway before turning right to follow Turner Diagonal for where US 40 joined Interstate 70 for the duration of its journey eastward toward Missouri.
In 1951, the State of Kansas designated US 40 as a Blue Star Memorial Highway from border to border.
Missouri
US 40 enters Missouri in Kansas City along a concurrency with I-70. It leaves I-70 at exit 7A. US 40 parallels I-70 to the north through Kansas City until exit 11, where it crosses and parallels it to the south through the suburbs of Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, and Grain Valley before it rejoins I-70 at exit 24. An older alignment carries the designation "Old US 40".US 40 stays with I-70 until it reaches Boonville, where it leaves at exit 101, along with Business Loop 70. Both designations follow Ashley Road, before US 40 leaves and heads north along Main Street. After crossing the Missouri River in Boonville, US 40 turns east before rejoining I-70 again at exit 121 on the outskirts of Columbia. At milemarker 124, the US 40 alignment runs north of I-70 for one mile, then crosses under I-70, and continues east south of I-70 to milemarker 128, where it entered back on to I-70 eastbound until 2018. This entrance was abandoned when Business Loop 70 was extended by the City of Columbia east, across Hinkson Creek, then south as an outer road to US 63, connecting with Conley Road. The two routes remain concurrent until exit 210A in Wentzville.
From Wentzville, US 40 now joins a concurrency with I-64 and US 61 and heads southeast, crossing the Missouri River again over the Daniel Boone Bridge in St. Charles. US 40 stays joined with I-64 and leaves the state in St. Louis on the Poplar Street Bridge across the Mississippi River, along with I-64 and I-55. In the St. Louis metro area, the highway is often called "Highway Forty" since it predates the I-64 designation.
Until 1926, US 40 in Missouri was Route 2.
On January 2, 2008, of the route in St. Louis was closed both eastbound and westbound from I-170 to I-270. It re-opened December 15, 2008, two weeks ahead of the originally scheduled date of December 31, 2008. On December 13, 2008, another section of the freeway closed both ways from I-170 to the Kingshighway exit in the city. It was re-opened on December 7, 2009, with the speed limit raised to 60 mph on most of the stretch. It is a full freeway all the way from Downtown St. Louis to Wentzville. When complete, the entire new freeway was signed as I-64.
Illinois
The next of US 40 lie within the state of Illinois. Except where the route has been re-aligned with I-70, it is an entirely undivided surface route. Formerly a major highway, it has lost most of its non-local traffic to I-70. Some early bypasses of towns were built with the apparent intention of twinning them as a divided highway with access limited to intersections. I-70 uses none of those old bypasses that remain as sections of US 40. The westernmost portion of the historic National Road lies on most of the US 40 alignment in Illinois.US 40 crosses into Illinois at East St. Louis on the Poplar Street Bridge concurrently with I-55/I-64. The route has a close relationship with I-70 for the remainder of the time it spends in the state, being directly concurrent with or paralleling it throughout Illinois.
Between Pocahontas and Mulberry Grove, US 40 passes through several small towns. In Vandalia, Illinois, the former state capitol, it follows Veterans Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard through town. The Old State House in Vandalia marks the western terminus of the National Road, one of the earliest roads upon which US 40 was designated. From Vandalia, the road continues to the northeast passing through the early German settlement town of Teutopolis and several city streets in Effingham. Beyond Effingham, US 40 passes through many small unincorporated towns before leaving the state near Marshall.