U.S. Route 136 (US 136) runs east–west across 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 ...

for . US 136 enters the state from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

across the

Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge The Keokuk-Hamilton bridge is a steel girder, 4-lane bridge from Keokuk, Iowa to Hamilton, Illinois. It carries U.S. Route 136 across the Mississippi River. It also has fully fenced off pedestrian walkway. The Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge was built ...

over 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 fl ...

between

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

Hamilton, Illinois Hamilton is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census, a decline from 3,029 in 2000. The city is located directly across the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa. Hamilton is the largest city in ...

, and exits into

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

east of Danville. The largest population centers along the route are Macomb, Rantoul, and Danville. For nearly its entire route, US 136 is two-lane and rural, with the exception of portions in and around major towns and cities and its overlap with the

Chicago–Kansas City Expressway The Chicago–Kansas City Expressway is a highway that runs between Chicago, Illinois, and Kansas City, Missouri. The road is known as Route 110 in Missouri and Illinois Route 110 (IL 110) in Illinois. IL 110 was created through legislation ...

. Despite the highway's rural routing, it has junctions into four Interstates: Interstate 155 (I-155),

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 ...

I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchang ...

, and

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

. Additionally, US 136 contains what is perhaps one of the longest straight stretches of a U.S. Highway east of the Mississippi River, running nearly without any deviations from north of Easton to just west of Rantoul.

Route description

Hamilton to Havana

From the Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge, US 136 exits Keokuk and enters Hamilton. US 136 then runs concurrently with

Illinois Route 96 Illinois Route 96 (IL 96) is a north–south state highway in far western Illinois. It runs from IL 100 in Kampsville, not far from a ferry crossing across the Illinois River, to IL 94 north of Terre Haute. Route description Illinois ...

(IL 96) in Hamilton. It then bends slightly northwestward east of Elvaston as it is near Carthage. In Carthage, US 136 then runs concurrently with IL 94 until it reaches a diamond interchange east of the city. At that point, IL 94 leaves US 136 while it joins with IL 110 (CKC)/ IL 336. US 136 then leaves the concurrency southwest of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. North of the McDonough County Courthouse in downtown Macomb, US 67 joins in from the north. US 67 then branches south from US 136 east of Macomb. It then turns southward as it intersects IL 41. Then, it turns southeast north of Adair and then south and then east at Table Grove. At Duncan Mills, US 136 then runs concurrently with US 24 and IL 100. US 24 then leaves as the other two routes bending eastward. IL 100 soon leaves US 136. Just west of the Scott W. Lucas Bridge, IL 78 and IL 97 join with US 136. After the crossing, IL 78 turns southward, leaving the concurrency.

Havana to Indiana state line

US 136 then turns northward and then eastward from IL 97. It then meets IL 29 from the south where it travels concurrently until it leaves northward near San Jose. Further east, US 136 reaches four diamond interchanges with

I-155 Interstate 155 is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 55: *Interstate 155 (Illinois), a spur to Peoria *Interstate 155 (Missouri–Tennessee) Interstate 155 (I-155) is a ...

, US 51, and

respectively. Furthermore, it also intersects US 150, IL 54, and IL 47. West of Rantoul, US 136 meets I-57 at a parclo interchange. In downtown Rantoul, it intersects US 45. At

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong ...

, it turns south and then back east which overlaps IL 49. In the middle of Henning and

Alvin Alvin may refer to: Places Canada *Alvin, British Columbia United States *Alvin, Colorado *Alvin, Georgia *Alvin, Illinois * Alvin, Michigan *Alvin, Texas * Alvin, Wisconsin, a town *Alvin (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community Other ...

, US 136 turns south which overlaps IL 1. The concurrency runs from the junction of US 136/IL 1/ IL 119 to the junction of US 136/US 150/IL 1 in Danville. At that point, US 136 turns eastward all the way to Indiana.

History

Initially, before the formation of US 136, parts of IL 9, IL 31, IL 43, IL 24, IL 1, and IL 10 followed what is now part of US 136. The rest of it wasn't built yet. Over time, new roads were being built. By 1929, IL 98, IL 122, and IL 119 were established. In 1935, IL 31 was superseded by US 24 while IL 43 was superseded by parts of IL 122 and IL 120. In 1939, a part of Illinois Route 10 (IL 10) moved its western terminus from Decatur to Keokuk, Iowa. This caused the relocation of IL 98 from Adair–Duncan Mills route to its present-day routing. This also caused IL 9 to relocate northward. Also, IL 119 finished extending to IL 10 east of Havana. Since 1950, most of IL 119, as well as some sections of IL 10, were removed in favor of US 136.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{ccat-inline

Transportation in Hancock County, Illinois Transportation in McDonough County, Illinois Transportation in Fulton County, Illinois Transportation in Mason County, Illinois Transportation in Logan County, Illinois Transportation in McLean County, Illinois Transportation in Champaign County, Illinois Transportation in Vermilion County, Illinois 36-1