The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,320 miles (3,730 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is entirely within the United States; the total drainage basin is 1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km2), of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the fifteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. It formerly extended north into Canada, serving the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.
Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between the south and Chicago, bypassing St. Louis, Missouri. Between the junction of I-55 and I-57 in Sikeston, Missouri and the junction of I-55 and I-90/94 in Chicago, I-55 travels for 436 miles (702 km), while the combination of I-57 and I-94 is only 396 miles (637 km) long between the same two points. In fact, both the control cities on the overhead signs, as well as destination mileage signs, reference Memphis, Tennessee along southbound I-57, even as far north as its northern origin at I-94 in Chicago. Likewise, at its southern end, Chicago is the control city listed for I-57 on signs on northbound I-55 south of Sikeston, Missouri, even though I-55 also goes to Chicago.
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County.
U.S. Route 45 is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as 1,297 miles (2,087 km).
Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of the U.S. state of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. The southern part of Illinois has a unique cultural and regional history. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region's culture is aligned more with that of the Upland South rather than the Midwest. Part of downstate Illinois, the Southern Illinois region is bordered by the two most voluminous rivers in the United States: the Mississippi River below its connecting Missouri River to the west, and the Ohio River to the east and south with the Wabash as tributary.
The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge is a bridge across the Mississippi River between St. Clair County, Illinois, and the city of St. Louis, Missouri. Built between April 19, 2010, and July 2013, the bridge opened on February 9, 2014. The cable-stayed bridge has a main span of 1,500 feet (457 m).
U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada. Parts of US 62 follow what once was the Ozark Trail, including the historic bridge across the South Canadian River in Newcastle, Oklahoma. This bridge was damaged beyond repair by the 2013 Moore tornado that struck Newcastle and Moore, Oklahoma. The highway is signed north–south in New York and Pennsylvania.
U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 is a major south-north United States highway that extends 1,277 miles (2,055 km) from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within 150 feet (46 m) of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highways ending with "1", it is a cross-country north-south route extending from the Gulf Coast region to the Great Lakes region. Much of the highway in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin runs parallel to or is cosigned with Interstate 39 (I-39) and much of the route in several states also parallels the Illinois Central Railroad. From LaPlace, Louisiana, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee, much of that portion of US 51 runs largely parallel or is concurrent with Interstate 55 (I-55). The highway's northern terminus is between Hurley, Wisconsin, and Ironwood, Michigan, where it ends with a T interchange at US 2. Its southern terminus is in Laplace, Louisiana, ending at US 61. US 51 is routed through the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) is a 187.44-mile-long (301.66 km) major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction at the intersection of U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and Interstate 57 (I-57), and its northern terminus in Grafton at IL 100.
Bird's Point is an unincorporated community in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. It lies on an island or former island in the Mississippi River, near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and is situated directly across from Cairo, Illinois. This is the point where the U.S. Route 60 bridge connects with Cairo.
The Caruthersville Bridge is a single tower cantilever bridge carrying Interstate 155 and U.S. Route 412 across the Mississippi River between Caruthersville, Missouri and Dyersburg, Tennessee.
The Cairo Mississippi River Bridge is a type of cantilever bridge known as a Steel Truss Through Deck carrying U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62 across the Mississippi River. Located in the tri-state area of Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, it connects Cairo, Illinois at its northern terminus to Bird's Point, Missouri at its southern terminus. The bridge was most recently closed for renovation from March 16, 2015 to October 13, 2015.
The Cairo Ohio River Bridge is a cantilever bridge carrying U.S. Route 51, U.S. Route 60, and U.S. Route 62 across the Ohio River between Wickliffe, Kentucky and Cairo, Illinois. Of all the Ohio River crossings, it is the furthest downstream; the Mississippi River can be seen while crossing the bridge and looking westward.
The Sergeant John F. Baker Jr. Bridge, also known as the Baker Bridge or Interstate 280 Bridge, carries Interstate 280 (I-280) across the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. The bridge opened in 1973 with a blue and yellow color scheme, thought to be unique in the state. In 2007, it was repainted all blue. On July 30, 2010, the bridge was officially named the Sergeant John F. Baker Jr. Bridge.
Illinois Route 9 is a 218.31-mile-long (351.34 km) cross-state, east–west rural state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. It travels from Niota at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, that crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa, eastward across central Illinois to State Road 26 at the Indiana state line.
Cairo Rail Bridge is the name of two bridges crossing the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois. The original was an 1889 George S. Morison through truss and deck truss bridge replaced by the current bridge in 1952. The second and current bridge is a through truss bridge that reused many of the original bridge piers. As of 2018, trains like the City of New Orleans travel over the Ohio River supported by the same piers whose construction began in 1887.
U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62 (US 60/US 62) run for a very short distance within the state of Illinois. The highways run concurrently for their entire existence within the state. The joint highway runs around Fort Defiance in Cairo, from the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge over the Mississippi River east to the Cairo Ohio River Bridge over the Ohio River; the Ohio River Bridge also carries US 51. The bridges cross the two rivers just north of the mouth of the Ohio.
I-57 
