Illinois Route 96 (IL 96) is a north–south state highway in far western

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 100 in Kampsville, not far from a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

crossing across 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 D ...

, to IL 94 north of

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Route description

Illinois 96 follows much of the

Great River Road The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Miss ...

in Illinois north from Kampsville, where it runs west to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and then turns north, passing

U.S. 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 Railroad, Southern Pacific and ...

at a rural intersection and

Interstate 72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champai ...

at an old terminus near Kinderhook. It overlaps

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. Rout ...

west of Kinderhook and then runs parallel to

Illinois Route 57 Illinois Route 57 is a north–south state highway in western Illinois. It runs from Interstate 172 in Fall Creek to U.S. Route 24 and Illinois Route 104 in Quincy, a distance of . Route description Illinois 57 runs from Fall Creek north ...

into Quincy. Within Quincy it follows 36th Street, State Street and 24th Street before overlapping briefly with

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...

. It also overlaps

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 ...

in Hamilton, IL (across from

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

) and

Illinois Route 9 Illinois Route 9 (IL 9) is a cross-state, east–west rural state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. It travels from Niota at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, that crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa, eastward across ce ...

from Niota to

Dallas City, Illinois Dallas City is a city in Hancock and Henderson counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population in 2020 stands at an estimate of 805, a decline from the 2010 census of 945, which was a decline from 1,055 in 2000. The Hancock County portion ...

. Between Hamilton and Dallas City, Illinois 96 also passes through historic Nauvoo along Durphy and Mulholland Streets, two major streets that intersect in the middle of the town.

History

SBI Route 96 originally followed the modern-day Illinois 96 from Niota south to Kinderhook. In 1941, the state announced that IL 96 was extended north through Dallas City and Lomax to Terre Haute. Various state route designations (IL 96A) were used for

Carmen Road ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Op� ...

between Lomax and Gulfport until the 1965 Mississippi River floods. In March 1941, IL 96 was extended south to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

to a historical ferry crossing. The Hamburg ferry stopped running in 1960. In 1950, Illinois 96 was rerouted into Kampsville, where another ferry crossing is located nearby on

Illinois Route 108 Illinois Route 108 is an east–west highway in western Illinois. Its western terminus is at Illinois Route 100 in Kampsville, Illinois, Kampsville, and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 55 in Zanesville Township near Raymond, Illinois, Ra ...

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{ccat-inline 096 096 Transportation in Calhoun County, Illinois Transportation in Adams County, Illinois Transportation in Pike County, Illinois Transportation in Hancock County, Illinois Transportation in Henderson County, Illinois