| Illinois Route 9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by IDOT | ||||
| Length: | 218.31 mi[2] (351.34 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1918[1] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | Iowa 2 at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge in Niota | |||
| East end: | SR 26 / SR 352 near Cheneyville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Vermilion, Ford, McLean, Tazewell, Peoria, Fulton, McDonough, Hancock | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Illinois state highway system
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Illinois Route 9 is a cross-state, east–west rural state highway in central Illinois. It runs from the Fort Madison Toll Bridge over the Mississippi River to Iowa in Niota east to State Road 26 at the Indiana border. This is a distance of 218.31 miles (351.34 km).[2]
Contents |
Illinois 9 is a major arterial route in rural central Illinois. It is a parallel highway to Illinois 116 to the north and U.S. Route 136 to its south.
The road starts at the Indiana border near Cheneyville at Indiana 26 and Indiana 352 and runs as the main highway west, intersecting with Interstate 57 at Paxton; Interstate 55 and Interstate 74 at Bloomington; Interstate 155 at Tremont; and crossing the Illinois River on the John T. McNaughton Bridge between Bartonville and Pekin, where it becomes known as Court Street in the city. It is a two lane highway for most of its length.
Illinois 9 was established in 1918 as one of the original 46 SBI routes. The routing of Illinois 9 has had 2 major changes since its establishment.
The original western terminus was in Hamilton, IL at the old Keokuk Rail Bridge completed in 1916 and then preceded East through Carthage and Macomb (county seats of Hancock and McDonough counties), 9 miles (14 km) east of Macomb, southwest of New Philadelphia, the route turned north to Bushnell and then proceeded east along the current Illinois 9 alignment to Canton, Peoria County, and Pekin.
This current route moved north to terminate in Niota at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge (longest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world) after its completion in July 1928. The route parallels the Santa Fe railroad and Mississippi River to Dallas City then turns slightly southeast to LaHarpe Illinois. From LaHarpe the route parallels the TP&W right-of way to Bushnell.
From 1935 to 1937, Illinois 9 ran a different route from Pekin to Bloomington, that original route is now posted as:
| County | Location | Mile[3] | Junction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee | Fort Madison | — | US 61 / Iowa 2 | Continuation into Iowa |
| Mississippi River | Fort Madison Toll Bridge | |||
| Hancock | Niota | 0.9 | IL 96 | Western end of IL 96 concurrency |
| Dallas City | 7.3 | IL 96 | Eastern end of IL 96 concurrency | |
| 14.0 | IL 94 | Western end of IL 94 concurrency | ||
| La Harpe | 20.0 | IL 94 | Eastern end of IL 94 concurrency | |
| McDonough | Good Hope | 40.0 | US 67 | |
| Bushnell | 49.7 | IL 41 | SouthWest end of IL 41 concurrency | |
| 54.0 | IL 41 | NorthEast end of IL 41 concurrency | ||
| Fulton | Canton | 72.6 | IL 78 | |
| Banner | 80.8 | US 24 | Western end of US 24 concurrency | |
| Orchard Mines | 94.6 | US 24 | Eastern end of US 24 concurrency | |
| Tazewell | Tremont | 107 | I-155 / IL 121 | |
| McLean | Bloomington Heights | 131 | US 150 | Western end of US 150 concurrency |
| 133 | I-55 / I-74 | |||
| Bloomington | 135 | US 51 | ||
| 135 | US 150 | Eastern end of US 150 concurrency | ||
| Ford | Paxton | 183 | I-57 | |
| Vermilion | Hoopeston | 206 | IL 1 | |
| 215 | SR 26 / SR 352 | Continuation into Indiana | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||