It travels from IL 203 in Granite City east to U.S. Route 40 (US 40) near Troy.

IL 162 has two lanes except around the Granite City Steel area and at I-55/I-70 and eastward into Troy.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is doing major work on IL 162 at the interchange with I-55/I-70 in Troy.

[2] State Bond Issue (SBI) Route 162 originally traveled from Spring Valley to LaMoille.

In 1954, IL 162 was used on the Glen Carbon-to-Granite City portion of the current road.