Illinois Route 121 (IL 121) is a major

state highway 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 the central part of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. Although it travels from northwest to southeast, it is marked as a north–south highway.Sarjeant, Charles
Illinois 121
. Retrieved May 9, 2006. It travels from IL 130 in Greenup (very near U.S. Route 40) to Interstate 55 (I-55) in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

at the interchange of I-55 and IL 10.

Route description

IL 121 travels north from Greenup near

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

. While traveling northwest, IL 121 travels through Toledo and has an interchange with

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 ...

in Mattoon. From there, it travels northwest into the

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

of Decatur but largely goes around downtown using 22nd Street and Pershing Road. On the northwest side of Decatur, IL 121 intersects with the

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

I-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 ...

and US 51. IL 121 continues further northwest into Lincoln, where it has a concurrency with IL 10 through Lincoln as Keokuk Street and Woodlawn Road before terminating at I-55 just south of

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 ...

. IL 10 continues west on the same road.

History

State Bond Issue (SBI) Route 121 formerly traveled from Peoria to the

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 ...

state line east of Chrisman. When US 36 was established in the late 1920s, IL 121 was dropped east of Decatur. In March 1937, IL 121 replaced then IL 131 and IL 132 south of Decatur to Greenup. In 1993, I-155 north of Lincoln was completed. IL 121 was then dropped from this stretch of freeway. IL 121 had a business route through Decatur until about 1980 along Main Street and Water Street. This was replaced by US 51 Business.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{ccat-inline 121 Transportation in Cumberland County, Illinois Transportation in Coles County, Illinois Transportation in Macon County, Illinois Transportation in Logan County, Illinois U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 51 Transportation in Moultrie County, Illinois

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links