Illinois Route 9 (IL 9) is a cross-state, east–west rural

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the central part of the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. It travels from Niota at the

Fort Madison Toll Bridge The Fort Madison Toll Bridge (also known as the Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge for the old Santa Fe Railway) is a tolled, double-decked swinging truss bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Fort Madison, Iowa, and unincorporated Niota, Il ...

, that crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

into

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, eastward across central Illinois to State Road 26 (SR 26) at the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

state line.

Route description

IL 9 is a major arterial route in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...

central Illinois. It is a parallel highway to IL 116 to the north and

U.S. Route 136 U.S. Route 136 is an east-west U.S. highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 34 to the Interstate 74/Interstate 465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of . U ...

(US 136) to its south. It is a two-lane highway for most of its length. Illinois Route 9 runs eastward from the Mississippi River at the

to the Indiana state line near Cheneyville at SR 26 and SR 352. It crosses the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the ...

on the John T. McNaughton Bridge at Pekin, where it becomes known as Court Street in the city. It has an interchange with I-155 at Tremont;

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa ( Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interch ...

at Bloomington; and

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

(I-57) at Paxton.

History

IL 9 was established in 1918 as one of the original 46

State Bond Issue Route The organized State Highway System of the U.S. state of Illinois comprises all of the state routes in the state. Illinois Highway Code The states that all state highways are to be numbered and that no state highway shall go unnumbered. In addi ...

(SBI) routes. The routing of IL 9 has had two major changes since its establishment. The original western terminus was in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

, at the old

Keokuk Rail Bridge The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk Municipal Bridge, is a double-deck, single-track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississip ...

completed in 1916 and then proceeded east through

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

and Macomb (

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

s of

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

and McDonough counties), east of Macomb, southwest of New Philadelphia, the highway turned north to Bushnell and then proceeded east along the current IL 9 alignment to

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

Peoria County Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

, and Pekin. * US 136, Hamilton to New Philadelphia, * IL 41, New Philadelphia to Bushnell * IL 9, Bushnell to Indiana state line. This current highway moved north to terminate in Niota at the

(longest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world) after its completion in July 1928. The route parallels the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

and Mississippi River to Dallas City then turns slightly southeast to LaHarpe. From LaHarpe, the highway parallels the original

Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Lo ...

right-of way to Bushnell. From 1935 to 1937, IL 9 traveled a different route from Pekin to Bloomington, that original route is now posted as: * IL 29, Pekin to North Pekin, * IL 98, North Pekin to Morton, * US 150, Morton to Bloomington.

Future

Between Macomb and Peoria, the next section of IL 336 is being studied Portions of IL 9 are being considered for the IL 336 project from Peoria to Macomb.

Major intersections

References

External links