Construction dollars began trickling in under the constant attention of then US Representative Kenneth Gray, D-West Frankfort, a zealous supporter of the interstate systems and believer in its benefits for his own district.
l-57’s construction through Williamson County was not won without some growing pains. Federal and state legal powers could claim all the private land needed for the project, but they were less powerful when another federal agency was involved. The intended route for the interstate ran smack through the middle of the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. Officials of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service were alarmed that the project would crop off 850 acres on the east end of the 44,000 acre refuge.
Labor unions rallied around the project and the promise of 1,500 construction jobs. Eventually, a compromise was struck in April 1958, shaving about 400 acres off of the east end of the refuge. The first interstate paving contract in the area was awarded in January 1958 to Leon B. Stilley Construction of Marion, at $1,079 million.
A segment of I-57 from Marion south to Dongola was the first section to be completed in 1960. The three commercial inlet changes on I-57 in Williamson County at Johnston City and Marion are still undergoing development. The West Main Street exit in Marion has recently undergone several million dollars in commercial development, including a major hotel and restaurant. If construction of a new mall development west of Marion proceeds as planned I-57 traffic is expected to produce a retail development boom along Illinois Rt. 13.”
(This article was written before 1989 by Dave DeWitte of the Southern lllinoisan and reprinted in the sesquicentennial souvenir of 1989)
Interstate 57 first opened in 1961 and runs through the western portion of the city. It connects with Interstate 24 a few miles south of town. These pictures show the construction of I 57 in the late 1950’s and early ’60’s and the exchange at I57 and DeYoung Street (New Rt 13). Expansion of the city required upgraded and additional access on and off the interstate so extensive construction began in 2011. The state altered Rt 13 with a new four-lane route along DeYoung Street in the late 1950s bypassing West Main as the old state route which used to run through the center of town. This naturally impacted downtown business and forced expansion to locations along the new routes. Deveopment near the Interstate required revamping of Morgan Drive and the eventual addition of new on/off ramps to access the numerous new businesses in this section including the development of a STAR bond issue promising to bring a large recreational/retail outlet.
(Photos courtesy of Williamson County Historical Society, Marion Chamber of Commerce and Tom Wimberly Collection)