Illinois Route 142 is a major arterial road in southeastern

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 near the town center of

Equality Equality may refer to: Society * Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing ** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...

at Calhoun Street, a local road, north to

Illinois Route 37 Illinois Route 37, Illinois 37 or IL 37, is a north–south state highway in southern Illinois. IL 37's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and IL 3 in Cairo and the northern terminus is at US 45 in Watson. Route ...

and the northern terminus of

Illinois Route 148 Illinois Route 148 is a north–south state road in southern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 37 at Pulleys Mill (near the intersection of Interstate 24 and Interstate 57) north to the western terminus of Illinois Route 142 and Illinois ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. This is a distance of .

Route description

Illinois 142 runs northwest from Equality. Before reaching

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

, it intersects

Illinois Route 13 Illinois Route 13 (IL 13) is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky ...

and

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

. Illinois 142 largely parallels the North Fork of the Saline River before reaching McLeansboro and intersecting

Illinois Route 14 Illinois Route 14 (IL 14) is a major east–west highway in southern Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 51 south of Du Quoin to the New Harmony Toll Bridge over the Wabash River to State Road 66 at the Indiana state line. This is a distance ...

and

Illinois Route 242 Illinois Route 242 is a north–south state highway in southern Illinois that runs from Illinois Route 142 in McLeansboro north to Illinois Route 15 in Wayne City. The route serves as a spur of Illinois Route 142, which runs north–south from ...

, a spur of Illinois 142. Route 142 then proceeds northwesterly following the alignment of the former US Route 460, passing through Dahlgren and crossing

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

without an interchange, before entering the Mount Vernon area. In Mt. Vernon, Illinois 142 passes the sole remaining Continental Tire North America manufacturing plant, becoming Fisher Lane for a short distance before intersecting IL 37. Illinois 142 crosses IL 37, where its name changes to Veterans Memorial Drive. It proceeds along Veterans Memorial Drive ending at the northern terminus of

(Waltonville Road). Illinois 142 passes through these communities with a population greater than 500:

Mount Vernon, Illinois Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,600 at the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is the principal city of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all o ...

, Dahlgren, McLeansboro,

, and

History

SBI Route 142 ran from Effingham to McLeansboro along what is Illinois 37 today. It was changed in the mid-1930s to its current routing. In 1947, ''

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

'' was applied onto Illinois 142 from Mount Vernon to McLeansboro; Illinois 142 was then moved onto what was then ''

Illinois Route 147 Illinois Route 147 is an east–west state road in southern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 146 east of Vienna (very near an interchange with Interstate 24) to Illinois Route 145 in Glendale. This is a distance of . Route descriptio ...

'', which had been '' Illinois Route 142A'', or the highway north from McLeansboro to Wayne City. This configuration lasted until 1974, when U.S. 460 was decommissioned and the current routing for Illinois 142 re-established from Mount Vernon to McLeansboro. The road from McLeansboro north to Wayne City was again renamed, to Illinois 242. Illinois Route 142 runs roughly parallels to and near the path of the historic

Goshen Road Goshen Road was an early road that ran from Old Shawneetown, Illinois, on the Ohio River, northwest to the Goshen Settlement, near Glen Carbon, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, this was the main east/west road in Ill ...

in the counties it traverses.

Major Intersections

References

External links

*{{ccat-inline

142 142 may refer to: * 142 (number), an integer * AD 142 Year 142 ( CXLII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consul ...

Transportation in Gallatin County, Illinois Transportation in Saline County, Illinois Transportation in Jefferson County, Illinois Transportation in Hamilton County, Illinois