U.S. Route 24 in Illinois

Infobox Illinois state route
article_route=24
type=US
length_mi=255.13
length_round=2
length_ref=cite web |author=Illinois Technology Transfer Center |url=http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html |title=T2 GIS Data |accessdate=2007-11-08 |date=2007]
length_notes=Length includes both directions of U.S. 24 where it is routed onto two one-way streets through some cities.
direction_a=West
starting_terminus=
direction_b=East
ending_terminus=
counties=
cities=Quincy, Mount Sterling, Astoria, Lewistown, Peoria, Washington, Eureka, El Paso, Chenoa, Fairbury, Watseka
established=1926Carlson, Rich. [http://www.n9jig.com/21-40.html Illinois Highways Page: Routes 21-40] . Last updated April 15, 2005. Retrieved June 9, 2006.]
prev_type=Interstate
prev_route=24
next_route=25
browse=

In the U.S. state of Illinois, U.S. Route 24 is a major arterial road that runs from the Missouri state line at the Mississippi River in Quincy to Sheldon. This is a distance of convert|255.13|mi|km|2.

Route description

In Illinois, U.S. Route 24 may be divided into the following segments:

Quincy to Peoria

The U.S. 24 crossing into Illinois from Missouri over the Mississippi River consists of two bridges; westbound traffic uses the newer Bayview Bridge, while eastbound traffic uses the Quincy Memorial Bridge. At the eastern end of the Quincy Memorial Bridge, eastbound U.S. 24 overlaps Illinois Route 57 northbound (4th Street) for two blocks before Illinois 57 ends at Illinois Route 104 (Broadway); westbound U.S. 24 turns off onto the bridge at the northern terminus of Illinois 57. U.S. 24 continues north at Illinois 104 and serves only the northwestern portion of Quincy.

U.S. 24 overlaps Illinois Route 96 briefly before running due east. It has a full interchange with the northern terminus of Interstate 172; as of 2006, Illinois Route 336 continues northbound of I-172.

U.S. 24 then proceeds through a series of small towns; east of Camp Point, it intersects the southern terminus of Illinois Route 94. In Mount Sterling it briefly overlaps Illinois Route 99; Illinois Route 107 ends just south of U.S. 24. At this point, the highway turns northeast once again.

Just outside of Ripley U.S. 24 intersects the western terminus of Illinois Route 103. U.S. 24 then intersects U.S. Route 67 outside of Rushville. It enters Rushville from the west and exits north, on Kinderhook Road.

U.S. 24 continues northeast and follows a series of concurrencies. West of Havana, U.S. 24 joins Illinois Route 100 northbound, and U.S. Route 136 westbound, forming a wrong-way concurrency. U.S. 136 leaves U.S. 24 and travels west at Duncan Mills, while U.S. 24 and Illinois 100 continue north to Lewistown. In Lewistown, the U.S. 24/Illinois 100 combination intersects Illinois Route 97 (Avenue E). Illinois Routes 97/100 run north while U.S. 24 eastbound joins with Illinois 97 southbound. U.S. 24/Illinois 97 meet Illinois Route 78, where Illinois 78/97 runs southbound and U.S. 24 eastbound joins with Illinois 78 northbound. The series of concurrencies ends in Little America, where Illinois 78 turns north and U.S. 24 continues northeast.

Illinois Route 9 overlaps U.S. 24 from Banner to just west of Pekin. North of the Pekin area, U.S. 24 enters the greater Peoria area at an interchange with Interstate 474.

Peoria to Indiana

In Peoria, U.S. 24 enters the city on SW Adams Street (most streets in Peoria are oriented SW/NE or SE/NW). It then shifts a block over to Washington Street. At the northwestern foot of the Cedar Street Bridge, U.S. 24 intersects a three-route concurrency of Illinois Routes 8, 29 and 116. Illinois 8/116 run northwest towards Bradley University while Illinois 29 northbound joins U.S. 24 through the remainder of Peoria. At the foot of the Bob Michel Bridge, U.S. 24/Illinois 29 intersects Illinois Route 40. Prior to the 2004-2006 Upgrade 74 project, eastbound U.S. 24 had no access to Interstate 74 while westbound U.S. 24 had access on Adams Street; the final configuration of U.S. 24 in this area has not yet ben determined as of June 2006. Within the city of Peoria, U.S. 24 generally has between four and six lanes (2 to 3 westbound and eastbound).

U.S. 24 remains split northeast of I-74 on Adams (eastbound) and Jefferson (westbound) Streets before reverting to two-way traffic as Galena Road. U.S. 24 then intersects U.S. Route 150 (War Memorial Drive) at the foot of the McClugage Bridge. U.S. 24 crosses the bridge with eastbound U.S. 150 while Illinois 29 continues northbound. Though the bridges look similar, they are not identical; westbound traffic has three lanes, while eastbound traffic has two.

On the other side of the bridge, eastbound U.S. 150 exits onto westbound Illinois 116 to form another wrong-way concurrency, but U.S. 24 continues east to the Washington area on a four-lane divided highway. The highway continues to the interchange of Business U.S. 24 and the eastern terminus of Illinois 8, (Business U.S. 24 and Illinois 8 form an unsigned wrong-way concurrency at this point). Business U.S. 24 continues to Washington's town square on a four-lane undivided surface road, which eventually narrows to a two-lane road; the U.S. 24 bypass remains 4 lanes divided to Main Street north of Washington. The eastern terminus of Business U.S. 24 is between Washington and Eureka.

In Eureka, U.S. 24 has a stoplight with Illinois Route 117; there are also numerous signs to Eureka College and the Ronald Reagan Trail, as Eureka had prominence in President Ronald Reagan's early life. U.S. 24 then continues east, bypassing Secor to the south before interchanging with Interstate 39.

Just east of I-39, U.S. 24 serves as the main east-west road through El Paso, which largely serves as a stop for travelers on I-39. U.S. 24 travels through one other community, Gridley before having an interchange with Interstate 55 west of Chenoa.

East of Interstate 55, U.S. 24 has an intersection with former "U.S. Route 66". It then passes through the towns of Fairbury, Forrest and Chatsworth, intersecting Illinois Route 47 in Forrest. Just south of Gilman, U.S. 24 has an interchange with Interstate 57 before overlapping U.S. Route 45 through Gilman. The two highways separate east of Gilman.

In Crescent City U.S. 24 intersects Illinois Route 49. In Watseka, it overlaps Illinois Route 1 through the town; the final concurrency, with U.S. Route 52 in Sheldon carries into Indiana.

History

The routing of U.S. Route 24 in Illinois is largely unchanged from 1926. Prior to 1937, U.S. 24 ran through Canton on various roads; afterwards it was relocated southeast, closely paralleling the Illinois River.

In 1995 a bypass around Washington was completed. The old U.S. 24 became an extension of Illinois 8 to between Washington and Eureka. In 1997, it was changed to Business U.S. Route 24, and Illinois 8 was truncated back to west of Washington.

References