Illinois Route 29

Illinois Route 29
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length: 175.36 mi[2] (282.21 km)
Existed: 1918[1] – present
Major junctions
South end: US 51/ILL 16 in Pana
North end: US 6/ILL 89 in Spring Valley
Location
Counties: Christian, Sangamon, Menard, Mason, Tazewell, Peoria, Marshall, Putnam, Bureau
Highway system

Illinois state highway system
Illinois Tollway system

← IL 26 US 30 →

Illinois Route 29 is a two to four lane state road that runs south from U.S. Route 6/Illinois Route 89 at Spring Valley to U.S. Route 51/Illinois Route 16 at Pana, running through Pekin, Peoria and Springfield. The nearest major north–south highway, Interstate 39, runs parallel to Illinois 29, but approximately fifty miles to the east. Illinois 29 is 175.36 miles (282.21 km) long.[2]

Contents

Route description

Illinois 29 runs near the right bank(going down stream) which is (north and west) of the Illinois River from Spring Valley to Peoria. Starting at U.S. 6/Illinois 89 at the north edge of Spring Valley, the road passes through the small towns of Putnam and Henry, intersecting Illinois Route 18 at Henry. In Sparland, Illinois 29 intersects Illinois Route 17. It then runs beneath the bluff at Hopewell before becoming 4th Street, the main north–south artery through Chillicothe.

From the north end of Illinois Route 6 at Mossville south through Peoria and Peoria Heights, Route 29 is named Galena Road until it crosses U.S. Route 150 at the McClugage Bridge and merges with U.S. Route 24 from the bridge; from there the road is named Adams Street. South of downtown in Peoria, 29 splits from U.S. 24 onto the Cedar Street Bridge, where it crosses the Illinois River to East Peoria with Illinois Route 8 and Illinois Route 116.

At the east end of the Cedar Street Bridge, Routes 8 and 116 proceed north on East Peoria's Main Street, and Route 29 proceeds south, entering Creve Coeur on Main Street and providing an interchange with Interstate 474. It enters Pekin as 8th Street and forks off as 5th Street before a short concurrency with Illinois Route 9 near the Pekin Bridge. Splitting onto 2nd Street (southbound) and 3rd Street (northbound) before crossing the bridge, Route 29 exits Pekin as 2nd Street, passing the Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin, and from there goes substantially directly south through Mason City to Springfield.

Route 29 enters Springfield at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, and runs around the north and east sides of the city. After leaving Springfield at an interchange with Interstate 72/U.S. Route 36, Route 29 runs southeast through Taylorville, passing the end of Illinois Route 104 and crossing Illinois Route 48, then ending at U.S. Route 51/Illinois Route 16 in Pana.

History

Route 29 was established in 1918, and ran from DePue to Peoria. It was extended twice over Illinois Route 24 in 1936 and 1940, and in 1942 replaced an old alignment of U.S. Route 6 from Bureau Junction to Spring Valley.[1]

Future

Main article: Peoria-to-Chicago Highway

Illinois 29 has long been slated as one of the roads to be upgraded as part of a Peoria-to-Chicago Highway. While there are no longer funded plans to build the expressway, there are plans to attempt to reduce congestion on Illinois 29 by widening it from a narrow two lane highway to a four lane divided highway.

In September 2001, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began the Illinois 29 Study to determine feasible upgrade paths for this corridor.

The Illinois 29 Study covers Route 29 from Interstate 180 across the Illinois River from Hennepin, south to Illinois Route 6 at Mossville.

Along most of this stretch, the road is a striped, two lane (one northbound, one southbound) highway. In Chillicothe, the speed limit is reduced to 35 mph (56 km/h), though there are now four lanes (two northbound, two southbound). Truck traffic is relatively heavy along this stretch, owing to various industrial factories located in the towns.

Proposed solutions

IDOT is considering a western bypass of Henry, Sparland, Hopewell, and Chillicothe. It is referred to as the "Bluff Alternate" because the highway would be relocated (south of Putnam) onto a bluff overlooking the Illinois River. Another alternate still under consideration is to merely upgrade the roads through Hopewell and Sparland to a divided four lane highway.

Some other considerations have already been withdrawn, including an eastern bypass of Putnam.

All solutions result in the lengthening of Illinois Route 6 to meet the new Illinois 29 just north of Peoria.

Major intersections

County Location Mile Junction Notes
Christian Pana US 51 / IL 16 (Jackson Street, Cedar Street)
Taylorville IL 48 (Jaycee Drive)
IL 104 west
Sangamon Springfield I-55 / I-72 / US 36
IL 97 south (Clear Lake Avenue) South end of IL 97 overlap
I-55 Bus. (9th Street)
IL 97 north (Jefferson Street, Madison Street) North end of IL 97 overlap
IL 4 (Veterans Parkway)
IL 123 east South end of IL 123 overlap
Menard IL 123 west North end of IL 123 overlap
Mason Mason City IL 10 (Chestnut Street)
US 136 west South end of US 136 overlap
Allen US 136 east North end of US 136 overlap
Tazewell Pekin IL 9 west (Pekin Bridge) South end of IL 9 overlap
IL 9 east (Margaret Street, Ann Eliza Street) North end of IL 9 overlap
Pekin, North Pekin IL 98 east (Edgewater Drive)
Creve Coeur I-474 – Galesburg, Bloomington
East Peoria IL 8 east / IL 116 east – Washington, Metamora South end of IL 8/IL 116 overlap
Edmund Street
Illinois River Cedar Street Bridge
Peoria Peoria US 24 west (Washington Street) / IL 8 west / IL 116 west (McArthur Highway) South end of US 24 overlap; North end of IL 8/IL 116 overlap
To IL 40 (Bob Michel Bridge) – East Peoria
I-74 (Murray Baker Bridge) – Galesburg, Bloomington
US 24 east / US 150 (War Memorial Drive, McClugage Bridge) North end of US 24 overlap
Mossville IL 6 south to I-74 to I-474
Stark Sparland IL 17 east (Ferry Street) South end of IL 17 overlap
IL 17 west (Hilltop Drive) North end of IL 17 overlap
Henry IL 18 east (3rd Street)
Putnam No major intersections
Bureau To I-180
IL 26 south South end of IL 26 overlap
Bureau IL 26 north North end of IL 26 overlap
Spring Valley US 6 / IL 89
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 21 thru 40. Last updated March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). "T2 GIS Data". http://www.dot.state.il.us/gist2/select.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 

External links