Illinois Route 26 (IL 26, Illinois 26) is a north–south state highway in central and north-central
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 Rockf ...
. It runs from
Illinois Route 116
Illinois Route 116 (IL 116) is a cross-state rural state highway that runs from U.S. Route 34 (US 34) by Gladstone east to the intersection of US 45 (North Front Street) and Old US 45, on the north side of Ashkum.
Route description
The ...
just north of
East Peoria
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from ...
to
Highway 69 at the
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
border near
Orangeville. This is a distance of .
Route description
Illinois 26 is a two to four lane surface highway for the majority of its length. Its southern terminus is just one mile (1.6 km) north of the
McClugage Bridge carrying
U.S. Route 150 into
Peoria.
Illinois 26 mostly follows the east bank of the
Illinois River until it crosses the river at
Hennepin. It
runs concurrent with
Illinois Route 29
Illinois Route 29 (IL 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 n ...
, its Illinois River west bank counterpart, at
Bureau
Bureau ( ) may refer to:
Agencies and organizations
* Government agency
*Public administration
* News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location
* Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
and with
U.S. Route 52 near Freeport.
History
SBI Route 26 originally ran from Freeport to Polo, on part of current IL-26. In 1937, IL-26 was extended from Freeport to the WI state line,
[ ] in place of
IL-74, and extended from Polo to Bureau along US-52 to Dixon, and replacing IL-89 from Dixon to Bureau. In 1969, it was extended south to East Peoria replacing IL-87.
In northern
Stephenson County, IL 26 originally ran through downtown
Orangeville and the unincorporated community of Oneco. In 1990, it was rerouted onto a new at-grade bypass around the village, decreasing travel time.
IL-26 was rerouted onto the nearby I-180 bridge over the Illinois River near Hennepin during the 1990s. The older IL-26 bridge, half a mile south of I-180, was removed after 1999. the old approaches are now local roads, used mainly as access to riverside industries on both banks.
Major intersections
References
External links
{{commonscat, Illinois Route 26
Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 26
026
Ronald Reagan Trail
Transportation in Tazewell County, Illinois
Transportation in Woodford County, Illinois
Transportation in Marshall County, Illinois
Transportation in Putnam County, Illinois
Transportation in Bureau County, Illinois
Transportation in Lee County, Illinois
Transportation in Ogle County, Illinois
Transportation in Stephenson County, Illinois