U.S. Route 34 WB, U.S. Route 30 (Oswego, IL) to Somonauk, IL | VirtualRoad

**Best viewed in 1080p60 or 720p60, time stamps below description.
Welcome to the fourth and final part of our Ogden Ave/U.S. Route 34 WB series from Chicago to Somonauk, IL! We begin at where the last video ended at U.S. Route 30 in Oswego, IL approximately 35 miles from Downtown Chicago. We continue all the way into Oswego's historic Downtown area where we cross the Fox River making a few turns in the process. Up to Downtown Oswego from the start of this video, 30 years ago there was nothing out there! Most of what we drive by in this first part was built within the last 20 to 30 years. After crossing the Fox River, we enter the more rural and wooded west side of Oswego passing older homes on larger lots approaching Orchard Rd. After Orchard Rd, we pass a few more Oswego streets before entering Kendall County's county seat of Yorkville where we pass next to a mix of older homes and newer homes. You can probably notice at this point that the pavement looks practically brand-new. That is because it is! (Completed in 2019). U.S. Route 34 was widened in this segment up through Bridge St (IL Route 47) and was long overdue. Yorkville and Oswego ballooned tremendously in the last 20 years so it was needed! After crossing Bridge St you can see the road dips down the first of several more times throughout the video to cross the Blackberry Creek. We then rise back up as we pass through the rest of Yorkville and cross into Plano (Fun fact: Plano was the filming location for all the Smallville scenes in Man of Steel (2013) and the Kent Family Farm is only a few miles south of Yorkville's south side!). This part of US 34 also looks new all the way into Plano's downtown since Plano too doubled in size in the last 30 years (completed in 2014). The road dips down again to cross the Big Rock Creek (another tributary to the Fox River) before rising back up into Plano's downtown. We pass by many older buildings including Plano Molding Co's original complex and many of Plano's original homes before exiting out into countryside. A train blasts by on Little Rock Rd as we head into Sandwich, IL crossing Little Rock Creek with the road dipping down then back up again. At this point we are transitioning out of the Chicago Metro and heading into consistently rural neighborhoods. We pass through Sandwich's downtown just like we did Plano passing by historic homes and buildings before reaching Sandwich's west side. Sandwich's west side is home to the famous Sandwich Fair in which the Wed thru Sunday after Labor Day every year the area is packed with people for all of its festivities. After passing the Sandwich Fairgrounds the road dips down one last time over Somonauk Creek where we enter Somonauk, IL, the last city in this video. This is where we officially enter rural Northern Illinois and after Somonauk there is only a handful of cities to see for over 100 miles. We then pass straight through Somonauk and all of its older homes and buildings before reaching the town's far west side where this video ends.
I hope you guys enjoyed a VirtualRide on the Chicago Metro's Ogden Ave/U.S. Route 34 from the Big City Center in Chicago all the way to rural Northern Illinois in Somonauk, IL! It is quite a remarkable ride to see all those neighborhoods and how this road connects ALL of them!
Be sure to subscribe, hit the bell, and check out the full playlist of all the segments of Ogden start to finish!
TIME STAMPS:
Douglas Rd: 2:49
IL Route 71: 6:01
Washington St: 8:54
IL Route 31: 9:47
Orchard Rd: 11:37
Bristol Ridge Rd: 13:56
N Bridge St (IL Route 47): 17:16
Cannonball Trail: 19:01
Eldamain Rd: 21:00
Needham Rd: 23:19
Center Ave: 24:43
Little Rock Rd: 26:27
Griswold Springs Rd/Railroad St: 30:18
Main St: 32:47
Fairwind Blvd/Sandwich Fairgrounds: 34:51
Somonauk Rd: 37:24
Green St: 38:39