Illinois Route 121
Encyclopedia
Illinois Route 121 is a major state road in central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Although it runs from northwest to southeast, it is marked as a north–south road. It runs from Illinois Route 130
Illinois Route 130
Illinois Route 130 is a north–south state road in eastern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 1 in Grayville north to Interstate 74 in Urbana. This is a distance of . Illinois 130 is the main north–south road through Charleston, the home of Eastern Illinois University.- Route...

 in Greenup
Greenup, Illinois
Greenup is a village in Cumberland County, Illinois, United States, along the Embarras River. The population was 1,532 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area....

 (very near U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...

) to Interstate 55
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north–south Interstate Highway. I-55 goes from LaPlace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place. A common nickname for the highway is "double...

 in Lincoln
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. It is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. First settled in the 1830s, Lincoln is home to three colleges and two prisons. The three...

 at the intersection of I-55 and Illinois Route 10
Illinois Route 10
Illinois Route 10 is an arterial east–west state road that runs from rural Mason County east to Champaign, a distance of .-Route description:...

. This is a distance of 109.48 miles (176.19 km).

Route description

Illinois 121 runs north from Greenup near Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...

. While traveling northwest, Illinois 121 passes through Toledo
Toledo, Illinois
Toledo is a village in Cumberland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,166 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cumberland County.Toledo is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 and has an interchange with Interstate 57
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Miner, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between...

 at Mattoon
Mattoon, Illinois
Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,555 as of the 2010 census. It is a principal city of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.Mattoon was the site of the "Mad Gasser" attacks of the 1940s....

.

From there it runs northwest into the city limits of Decatur
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...

 but largely goes around downtown using 22nd Street and Pershing Road. On the northwest side of Decatur, Illinois 121 intersects with the concurrent
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 Interstate 72
Interstate 72
Interstate 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; its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champaign, Illinois. In 2006, the Illinois General Assembly dedicated all of Interstate 72...

 and U.S. Route 51
U.S. Route 51
U.S. Route 51 is a north–south United States highway that runs for 1,286 miles from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana to within of the Wisconsin-Michigan border. Much of the highway in Illinois and southern Wisconsin runs parallel to or overlaps Interstate 39...

.

Illinois 121 continues further northwest into Lincoln, where it overlaps Illinois Route 10
Illinois Route 10
Illinois Route 10 is an arterial east–west state road that runs from rural Mason County east to Champaign, a distance of .-Route description:...

 through Lincoln as Keokuk Street and Woodlawn Road before terminating at Interstate 55
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north–south Interstate Highway. I-55 goes from LaPlace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place. A common nickname for the highway is "double...

 just south of Interstate 155
Interstate 155 (Illinois)
Interstate 155 is a north–south spur of Interstate 55 that provides an interstate connection for the Illinois cities of Peoria and Lincoln. The northern terminus for the interstate is just east of Peoria, at Interstate 74 exit 101 in Morton. The southern terminus, which is northwest of...

. Illinois 10 continues west on the same road.

History

SBI Route 121 formerly ran from Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

 to the Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 state line east of Chrisman
Chrisman, Illinois
Chrisman is a city in Ross Township, Edgar County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,343 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Chrisman is located at . It is on U.S. Route 150 less than a mile north of its intersection with U.S. Route 36...

. When U.S. Route 36
U.S. Route 36
U.S. Route 36 is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, where it meets U.S. Route 34. Its eastern...

 was established in the late 1920s, Illinois 121 was dropped east of Decatur. In 1937, Illinois 121 replaced then Illinois Route 131
Illinois Route 131
Illinois Route 131 is a north–south state road in northeastern Illinois. It extends south from Highway 31 and Lake CR A1/19 at the Illinois/Wisconsin state line by Pleasant Prairie, south to Illinois Route 176 in Lake Bluff, a distance of ....

 and Illinois Route 132
Illinois Route 132
Illinois Route 132 is an arterial state road that connects Illinois Route 59 near Lake Villa, with Illinois Route 131 in Waukegan. It is known as Grand Avenue for its entire length, and Grand Avenue extends west beyond Lindenhurst to near U.S. Route 12, west...

south of Decatur to Greenup.

In 1993, Interstate 155 north of Lincoln was completed. Illinois 121 was then dropped from this stretch of freeway.

Illinois 121 had a business route through Decatur until about 1980 along Main Street and Water Street. This was replaced by Business U.S. Route 51.
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