Illinois Route 129 (IL 129) is a north–south

state route 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 northeastern

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

. It runs from IL 113 in downtown Braidwood north to

Interstate 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-55).

Route description

IL 129 begins at a four-way intersection with IL 113 in Braidwood. The highway is an undivided two-lane surface road for its entire length. It heads northeast as Washington Street, parallel to the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

tracks and IL 53. Northeast of Braidwood, IL 129 curves northward and away from IL 53. It continues north until it terminates at an interchange with I-55. Northbound traffic on IL 129 can only enter northbound I-55, and the only access to IL 129 is from northbound I-55.

History

] SBI Route 129 originally ran from Effingham, Illinois, Effingham to

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. It was replaced by

Illinois Route 32 Illinois Route 32 (IL 32) is a north–south highway with its southern terminus at U.S. Route 40 and Illinois Route 33 in Effingham and its northern terminus at Illinois Route 48 at Cisco, a few hundred feet south of Interstate 72. Illinois ...

in 1937. In 1957, the number was reused for a former alignment of

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

that ran from Gardner to Wilmington, when US 66 was rerouted onto a new

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

alignment that passed to the west of Braceville and Braidwood. That new alignment eventually became

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 ...

. In 1995, a section of the highway south of Braidwood was closed to through traffic when a deteriorated

bowstring arch bridge A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward horizontal forces of the arch(es) caused by tension at the arch ends to a foundation are countered by equal tension of its own gravity plus any element of the total deck structure such grea ...

over a railroad line was deemed too expensive to repair. From 1995 until 1996, the Route 129 designation was moved to the other side of the railroad tracks, where it shared alignment with

Illinois Route 53 Illinois Route 53 (IL 53) is an arterial north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. IL 53 runs from Main Street west of historic U.S. Route 66 in Illinois, U.S. Route 66 (US 66) in Gardner, Illinois, Gardner to Illinois Rou ...

. This designation was dropped in 1996. On October 1, 2011, the deteriorated overpass at the interchange with I-55 was closed and removed, as was the previous U-turn ramp approximately north of the interchange so vehicles from IL 129 could access southbound I-55. This temporarily leaves this interchange with only an exit from northbound I-55 to southbound IL 129, and an entrance from northbound IL 129 to northbound I-55. A new full interchange is planned here in the future.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Illinois Route 129 129 129 Transportation in Will County, Illinois

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links