southeast of the city. Illinois 96 also serves as the Great River Road, which follows the path of the Mississippi River. Eastbound U.S. 24 crosses the Mississippi River from Missouri on the Quincy Memorial Bridge, while westbound traffic uses the newer Bayview Bridge. Bayview bridge was constructed in 1986, but was not built as a four-lane bridge because of budget cuts, as the cable suspension made it unaffordable to build a four-lane bridge. Other groups claimed that business in the downtown part of Quincy would decline if the Memorial bridge was shut down. On the Missouri side, U.S. 61 carries the Avenue of the Saints, a four-lane highway connecting Saint Louis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The Avenue of the Saints derives its name from Saint Louis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Quincy is at the center of four-lane highways in all directions: The Avenue of the Saints passes just five miles to the west and is four-lane from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Illinois Highway 172 is part of the newly designated Route 110/CKC (Chicago–Kansas City Expressway) which offers a less-congested alternative route to these popular Midwest destinations. Air travel The Quincy Regional Airport is to Quincy's east, about outside of the city limits. Cape Air operates daily flights to Chicago-O'Hare, which is 222 flying miles from Quincy and St. Louis-Lambert, which is 93 miles away. It is the 425th busiest airport in America based on passenger counts. Flight instruction, plane rentals and hangar space are also available at the airport. Longest Runway: 7,098 ft. Width: 150 ft. Amtrak service Quincy is an Amtrak community with a railroad station on the north side of town. Two state-supported trains, the Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg link Quincy with Chicago, Amtrak's main hub, with connections to hundreds of cities across the country. The Illinois Zephyr departs in the morning and arrives in the evening, while the Carl Sandburg arrives mid-day and departs in the late afternoon. Both make the same stops to Chicago's Union Station. Freight rail service Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern offer multiple freight trains daily and Burlington Junction Rail Road offers short line service many sites and development districts. River access Quincy is home to the northernmost port on the Mississippi River for 12-month barge traffic. The municipal barge dock currently serves multiple industries in the South Quincy Development District. The Mid America Intermodal Port Commission is