On Friday, October 28th, 1960, the Marion Public Square was bypassed by new Illinois Route 13. For the first time, east and west bound traffic on Route 13 no longer had to pass through the middle of town and around the square with the completion of DeYoung from N. Fair Street on the east side of Marion.
Traffic at this time still had to enter and exit Marion from the east on old 13, but got jogged by way of N. Fair which had to have three blocks from Boulevard to DeYoung converted from the old tar and chip city street to a paved surface as is explained in the following article.
Marion Open New By-Pass
The Fair Street connection of new and old Routes 13 in Marion was opened for traffic Friday.
State workers set up new signs re-routing through traffic which formerly came through the Public Square, heart of the business district.
Officials said heavy shopping traffic Saturday made it impossible to determine if square congestion will be reduced as is expected.
The Thomas Harris Construction Co. paved three blocks from DeYoung to Boulevard at a cost of $28,000. It was paid jointly by the city and county.
(Southern Illinoisan, Sunday, October 30, 1960)