Illinois Route 56

Illinois Route 56 (IL 56) is an east–west state road in northern and northeastern Illinois. It runs from the interchange of Illinois Route 47 at U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Sugar Grove east to US 12/US 20/US 45 (Mannheim Road) by Bellwood. This is a distance of 32.52 miles (52.34 km).

Route description

Illinois 56 parallels Interstate 88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) for its entire length and merges with it at Illinois Route 31, making it the only state road to be marked as a toll road—only Illinois Route 190 and Illinois Route 5 have ever had this distinction. Travelling eastbound, it begins at US 30 in Sugar Grove just west of Orchard Road and then runs with the I-88 tollway until intersecting Illinois Route 31. The route travels north with IL 31 briefly, then crosses over the Fox River. From there, the route heads in a northeasterly direction, paralleling I-88 to the north. The route ends at US 12/US 20/US 45.

Route 56 is called Butterfield Road for its entire length east of Illinois Route 25 until it meets its end as Washington Boulevard in Bellwood. It serves the Chicago suburbs of Aurora, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Wheaton, and other communities, as well as the College of DuPage, Oakbrook Center shopping mall, and farther out, the Fermilab in Batavia. Butterfield Road is a major arterial road within the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor.

Maryland Route 56

Maryland Route 56 (MD 56) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Big Pool Road, the state highway runs 8.08 miles (13.00 km) from Interstate 70 (I-70) in Big Pool east to MD 68 near Pinesburg in western Washington County. MD 56, which features a pair of one-lane bridges, provides access to Fort Frederick State Park and the eastern trailhead of the Western Maryland Rail Trail. The state highway was first constructed in the mid 1910s from what is now U.S. Route 40 (US 40) south to Big Pool. The highway was extended east toward the village of Big Spring in the early 1930s and to MD 68 in the late 1950s. MD 56 was truncated at I-70 in the mid-1990s.

Route description

Virginia State Route 56

State Route 56 (SR 56) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 60.87 miles (97.96 km) from U.S. Route 11 (US 11) at Steeles Tavern east to US 60 near Buckingham. SR 56 is the main east–west highway of Nelson County. The state highway connects the county seat of Lovingston with Buckingham to the east and the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley to the west.

Route description

SR 56 begins at an intersection with US 11 (Lee Highway) at Steeles Tavern a short distance east of the historic Cyrus McCormick Farm. The junction is just north of the Augusta–Rockbridge county line. SR 56 heads southeast into Rockbridge County as Tye River Turnpike, which enters George Washington National Forest and passes under Norfolk Southern Railway's Roanoke District at the village of Vesuvius. The state highway follows Little Marys Creek along its curvaceous ascent of the Blue Ridge Mountains. SR 56 intersects the Blue Ridge Parkway at Tye River Gap, where the highway enters Nelson County and becomes Crabtree Falls Highway. The state highway descends through Montebello and follows the South Fork of the Tye River past Crabtree Falls to Nash, where the highway begins to follow the Tye River proper.

U.S. Route 69

U.S. Route 69 is a north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only 150 miles (241 km) long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as those of US 287 and US 96) is in Port Arthur, Texas at an intersection with State Highway 87. Its northern terminus is in Albert Lea, Minnesota at Minnesota State Highway 13.

Route description

Texas

US 69 begins at its southern terminus with SH 87 in Port Arthur. This intersection is also the southern terminus for US 96 and US 287, which are concurrent with US 69. US 69, US 96, and US 287 continue in a northwest, then west, route until its intersection with Interstate 10 in southern Beaumont. At this intersection, US 69, US 96, and US 287 merge with I-10. I-10/US 69/US 96/US 287 continue in a northerly direction through Beaumont for several miles. Just after the intersection with US 90, I-10 splits from the multiplex and resumes its easterly course, leaving US 69, US 96, and US 287 heading northwest through Beaumont. US 69 north of I-10 is also known officially known as Eastex Freeway, and is an official evacuation route, just as Interstate 69/US 59 heading north from Houston is known as Eastex Freeway as well.

U.S. Route 399

U.S. Route 399 was a U.S. Highway that ran from Ventura, California to Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1934 and deleted in 1964, as it was only 137 miles (219 km) long, less than the minimum 300 miles (480 km) that AASHTO set as the threshold for U.S. Highways. It has been replaced with a segment of State Route 33, all of State Route 119, and a segment of State Route 99.

Route description

From its original junction at U.S. Route 101 in Ventura, California, the route continues along State Route 33 up to Ojai, temporarily joining State Route 150. Leaving Ojai, it continued into the Los Padres National Forest along the Maricopa Highway, with its summit at Pine Mountain. Descending into the Cuyama River Valley, it met State Route 166 and travelled east towards Maricopa past what is now the Carrizo Plain National Monument and crossing the axis of the San Andreas Fault into the southern San Joaquin Valley. In Maricopa, it continued north again with State Route 33 into the southern Midway-Sunset Oil Field and intersecting modern State Route 119 in Taft. From Taft, U.S. 399 followed State Route 119 out of town through Valley Acres and past the modern Buena Vista Recreation Area (the old Buena Vista Lake) towards U.S. Route 99 (now State Route 99) in Pumpkin Center and Greenfield, then with the old alignment of U.S. Route 99 (Union Avenue, SR 99 Bus.) north into Bakersfield where it terminated. This ending, being a useless concurrency, was later truncated to U.S. Route 99 until U.S. Route 399 was decommissioned.

U.S. Route 431

U.S. Route 431 is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently runs for 556 miles (895 km) from Owensboro, Kentucky at U.S. Route 60 to Dothan, Alabama, at U.S. Route 231 and U.S. Route 84.

Route description

Alabama

U.S. 431 is paired with unsigned State Route 1 throughout almost all of Alabama, with the exception Dothan, where it is paired with unsigned State Route 210. Within Dothan, AL 1 is also paired with US 231 between the Florida State Line and the Dothan Loop, and US Business Routes 231 and 431 in Dothan, Alabama.

The route takes a rather meandering path through southeast Alabama. It heads in a northeast direction to pass through Phenix City near the Georgia state line, then cuts back to the west to pass through Opelika; the portion between Phenix City and Opelika is concurrent with U.S. Route 280. From Opelika, US 431 swings back and forth between northwest and northeast as it works its way through the southern extent of the Appalachian Mountains, then turning northwest to pass through the Talladega National Forest, arriving at a junction with Interstate 20 a few miles east of Oxford. The combined routes travel westward from Exit 191 into Oxford, where US 431 splits off at Exit 188 and heads northward through Oxford and the adjacent city of Anniston; through this section the route is named Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Ward Parkway

Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Kansas-Missouri state line. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and continues westward along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 until it turns southward across the creek just before the Kansas-Missouri state line. It then continues south for four miles, terminating at Wornall Road near West 95th Street.

Ward Parkway has a wide, landscaped median, which is decorated with fountains and statuary. Many of Kansas City's finest large houses are along Ward Parkway in the Country Club District.

The street name derives from the family of pioneer Seth E. Ward who owned property on both sides of the parkway and whose house at 1032 West 55th St. is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Location