Illinois Route 100 (IL-100) is a

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 southwest

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 generally parallels 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 ...

. Starting in downtown Alton, it trends northward to Buckheart Township near

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 ...

. It makes up much of the Illinois River Road, a U.S.

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

Route description

The southern end in Alton is at US 67 where Broadway, Landmarks, and Piasa Streets come together. It follows the east bank of the Mississippi River and Illinois River through Grafton until Hardin, where it crosses the Joe Page Bridge across the Illinois River. A portion of the Great River Road was on an old railroad alignment, which you can see parts of just north of Alton. During periods of high water, this highway is susceptible to flooding. Illinois Route 100 along great river road

Illinois Route 100 along great river road

North of Hardin, the highway follows the west bank of the Illinois River until the bridge near Florence. From that point on, IL 100 follows mostly farmland on much higher ground until Beardstown, where it will cross the river a third and final time. It will again follow the west bank of the Illinois River until US 136. After meeting with US 24 in Duncan Mills, IL 100 and US 24 is cosigned until Lewistown. North of Lewistown, IL 100 heads in a north-east alignment until its northern terminus with IL 78 near Dunfermline.

Illinois River Road

Illinois Route 100 overlaps the Illinois River Road from Grafton to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

History

IL 100 originally went from Godfrey from the intersection at Godfrey Road and Homer M. Adams Parkway (IL 111/US 67) to Grafton on the current IL 3. In 1987, IL 3, 143, and 100 alignments were changed to their current routes in the River Bend (Illinois) area when the Homer M. Adams Parkway Extension was opened. On June 28, 2012, the Florence Bridge over the Illinois River was closed for at least 9 months by IDOT due to difficulties with the lifting mechanism that allows barge traffic to pass under the bridge. Inspections suggested that continued use of the lift span could harm the structural integrity of the bridge. As barges need to pass under the bridge, the lifting span was raised up and the bridge was closed. Motorists wishing to cross the river must use the signed detour utilizing

Illinois Route 106 Illinois Route 106 (IL 106) is a east–west state highway in western Illinois. It runs from a new interchange with Interstate 72 (I-72) near East Hannibal (across from Hannibal, Missouri) to U.S. Route 67 (US 67) in White Hall. ...

US Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Golden ...

, and Interstate 72/ US Route 36. The bridge was repaired and reopened to traffic on April 22, 2013, only to be closed again for seven days of repairs after a barge collision on June 20, 2019.

Major intersections

References

External links