U.S. Route 24 (US 24) in the U.S. state of Illinois is a major arterial road that runs from the Missouri state line at the Mississippi River in Quincy to

Sheldon Sheldon may refer to: * Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia * Sheldon, Queensland *Sheldon Forest, New South Wales United Kingdom *Sheldon, Derbyshire, England *Sheldon, Devon, England * ...

. This is a distance of .

Route description

Quincy to East Peoria

From Quincy to Peoria, the US 24 route follows the old Peoria to Quincy stage coach route. The US 24 crossing into Illinois from Missouri over the Mississippi River consists of two bridges; westbound traffic uses the newer

Bayview Bridge The Bayview Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge bringing westbound U.S. Route 24 (US 24) over the Mississippi River. It connects the cities of West Quincy, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. Quincy Memorial Bridge serves Eastbound US-24. The b ...

, while eastbound traffic uses the

Quincy Memorial Bridge The Quincy Memorial Bridge is a truss bridge over the Mississippi River in Quincy, Illinois. It brings eastbound U.S. Highway 24 into the city of Quincy from Missouri. It was built in 1930, initially as a toll bridge, and remains structurally so ...

. At the eastern end of the Quincy Memorial Bridge, eastbound US 24 overlaps

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 ...

(IL 57) northbound (4th Street) for two blocks before IL 57 ends at IL 104 (Broadway); westbound US 24 turns off onto the bridge at the northern terminus of IL 57. US 24 continues north at IL 104 and serves only the northwestern portion of Quincy. US 24 overlaps IL 96 briefly before running due east. It has a full interchange with the northern terminus of

Interstate 172 Interstate 172 (I-172) is a spur route from I-72 entirely within the US state of Illinois. The highway runs north from its start outside of Hannibal, Missouri, to about west of Fowler. At U.S. Route 24 (US 24), I-172 becomes I ...

(I-172) ; as of 2006, IL 336 continues northbound of I-172. US 24 then proceeds through a series of small towns; east of

Camp Point Camp Point is a village in Adams County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,121 at the 2020 census, down from 1,132 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Quincy, IL– MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Camp Point i ...

, it intersects the southern terminus of IL 94. In Mount Sterling it briefly overlaps IL 99; IL 107 ends just south of US 24. At this point, the highway turns northeast once again. Just outside

Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...

US 24 intersects the western terminus of IL 103. US 24 then intersects US 67 outside of Rushville. It enters Rushville from the west and exits north, on Kinderhook Road. US 24 continues northeast and follows a series of concurrencies. West of Havana, US 24 joins IL 100 northbound, and US 136 westbound, forming a wrong-way concurrency. US 136 leaves US 24 and travels west at Duncan Mills, while US 24 and IL 100 continue north to Lewistown. In Lewistown, the US 24/IL 100 combination intersects IL 97 (Avenue E). IL 97/IL 100 run north while US 24 eastbound joins with IL 97 southbound. US 24/IL 97 meets IL 78, where IL 78/IL 97 runs southbound and US 24 eastbound joins with IL 78 northbound. The series of concurrencies ends in Little America, where IL 78 turns north and US 24 continues northeast. IL 9 overlaps US 24 from Banner, through

Kingston Mines Kingston Mines is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 259 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the Illinois River, it was a shipping port, loading co ...

and

Mapleton Mapleton may refer to: Places Australia * Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region Canada * Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County * Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood * Mapl ...

, to where IL 9 splits and crosses the river to Pekin. North of the Pekin turnoff, US 24 enters Bartonville as South Adams Street. Where Adams Street climbs a hill, US 24 splits off onto McKinley Avenue, rejoining Adams Street just south of the

I-474 Interstate 474 (I-474) is an Interstate Highway loop route that provides a southwestern bypass around the north-central Illinois city of Peoria. I-474's parent Interstate is I-74. As the first digit of the Interstate's number is even, it ...

interchange. Just before it enters the south side of Peoria, US 24 turns southeast onto I-474 to cross the

Shade–Lohmann Bridge The Shade–Lohmann Bridge is a pair of twin cantilever bridges that carry Interstate 474 (I-474) and U.S. Route 24 (US 24) over the Illinois River near the Peoria Lock and Dam located at River Mile 158.0 in Tazewell County, in the U.S. sta ...

. Previously, US 24 ran concurrently with US 150 across the

McClugage Bridge The McClugage Bridge carries U.S. Route 150 over Upper Peoria Lake & Peoria Lake in the Illinois River in the US state of Illinois. The bridge's official name honors David H. McClugage, mayor of Peoria from 1937 to 1941. The crossing is actua ...

upstream, crossing into East Peoria; when it was realigned to the current routing, the section through Peoria was decommissioned. US 24 leaves I-474 after three miles and enters Creve Coeur with IL 29 northbound as South Main Street.

East Peoria to Eureka

US 24/IL 29 enters East Peoria just south of the IL 8/ IL 116 westbound interchange. US 24/IL 29 joins IL 8/IL 116 eastbound at the foot of the left connector ramp, and then continues north. In East Peoria, US 24 follows another series of concurrencies. At Camp Street, US 24/IL 29/IL 116 join US 150 westbound, forming a wrong-way concurrency. IL 8 splits from US 24 and travels east-northeast, along with US 150 eastbound. Just after crossing Camp Street, US 24/US 150/IL 29/IL 116 have an interchange with I-74. IL 29 splits onto I-74 westbound to cross the river to Peoria, while US 24/US 150/IL 116 continue northeast. This series of concurrencies ends at the interchange on the north side of East Peoria, where IL 116 continues northeast, US 150 crosses 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 ...

on the McClugage Bridge, and US 24 turns to the east. The highway continues past Illinois Central College to the interchange of Business US 24 and the eastern terminus of IL 8, (Business US 24 and IL 8 form an unsigned wrong-way concurrency at this point). Business US 24 continues to Washington's town square on a four-lane undivided surface road, which eventually narrows to a two-lane road; the US 24 bypass remains four lanes divided to Main Street north of Washington. The eastern terminus of Business US 24 is near Eureka.

Eureka to Indiana

In Eureka, US 24 has a stoplight with IL 117; there are also numerous signs to

Eureka College Eureka College is a private liberal arts college in Eureka, Illinois, that is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Enrollment in 2018 was approximately 567 students. Eureka College was the third college in the Unite ...

and the

Ronald Reagan Trail The Ronald Reagan Trail is a collection of highways in central Illinois that connect villages and cities that were of importance to former United States President Ronald Reagan. The trail was established in 1999 by the Illinois General Assembly, f ...

, as Eureka had prominence in President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's early life. US 24 then continues east, bypassing Secor to the south before meeting with

I-39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. I- ...

. Just east of I-39, US 24 serves as the main east–west road through El Paso, which largely serves as a stop for travelers on I-39. US 24 travels through one other community, Gridley before having an interchange with I-55 west of Chenoa. East of I-55, US 24 has an intersection with former US 66. It then passes through the towns of Fairbury, Forrest and Chatsworth, intersecting Illinois Route 47 in Forrest. Just south of Gilman, US 24 has an interchange with I-57 before overlapping US 45 through Gilman. The two highways separate east of Gilman. In Crescent City US 24 intersects IL 49. In

Watseka Watseka or Watchekee (c. 1810–1878) was a Potawatomi Native American woman, born in Illinois, and named for the heroine of a Potawatomi legend. Her uncle was Tamin, the chief of the Kankakee Potawatomi Indians. She was also known by the ...

, it overlaps IL 1 through the town; the final concurrency, with US 52 in

carries into Indiana.

History

The routing of US 24 in Illinois is largely unchanged from 1926. Prior to 1937, US 24 ran through

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 ent ...

on various roads; afterwards it was relocated southeast, closely paralleling the

. In 1995 a bypass around Washington was completed. The old US 24 became an extension of IL 8 to near Eureka. In 1997, it was changed to Business US 24, and IL 8 was truncated back to west of Washington. Prior to 2012, US 24 ran through Peoria via downtown on various roads. That year, it was rerouted from the McClugage Bridge to the Shade–Lohmann Bridge on the border of Bartonville and Peoria, which carries I-474. Since the 1950s, US 24 through Illinois and Missouri has been considered as one route of various Chicago to Kansas City federal Interstate proposals (1956, 1968, 1972). None of these proposals received federal funding or support.

Major intersections

References