Route 6 enters Joliet from the west on this lift bridge over the Des Plaines River, which carries barge traffic between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan. For a stretch west of Joliet, Route 6 parallels the Illinois and Michigan Canal, opened in 1848 to carry traffic between these same two bodies of water. (July 1998 photo)

Joliet is the site of the conjunction of three storied highways. East of downtown Joliet, shown in this March 1997 photo, Route 6 crosses U. S. Route 30, the old Lincoln Highway. In downtown, Route 6 also crosses Route 66.

Here in downtown Joliet Route 6 shares a few blocks with the original Route 66. In the past, Jolietiers who planned to get their kicks by motoring west had two options: Six took off straight west, to La Salle, Rock Island, Omaha, Denver, Tonapah, Bishop, and Long Beach. Sixty-six headed southwest to such notable places as St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Gallop, Flagstaff, [don’t forget] Winona; Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino. (July 1998 photo)