Illinois Roads - I-74/IL 29

I-74 and I-74/IL 29



An unremarkable bridge takes I-74 from Iowa into Illinois across the Mississippi River. What's interesting is that I-74 is heading due south.

Faded, EB.


The new Peoria style of overpass, heading west under Broadway and University Streets.


I found it so nice I did it twice, this time EB.


I also found the Adams St. bridge nice, and we'll get to an even nicer one momentarily. But first, could "NORTH" be any more of an afterthought? I guess the sign is probably old enough to not anticipate IL 29 moving onto I-74 across the river here.


WB across the Illinois River on the 1958 Murray Baker Bridge, now also IL 29 NB since it was rerouted out of much of downtown in 2012 after I took these photos. US 24 was also rerouted to avoid the city completely, so it's no longer off Exit 93. What a waste of new signs.


Now EB across the river and IL 29 SB. Why only add bars to the first I in Illinois? The others not good enough for you?


Looking south at IL 40 and the Cedar St. Bridge, IL 8-116 and former IL 29.


Bonus views of the bridge, looking east from Eaton St.


The old style of overpass, at least east of the city, EB at Muller Rd. There are more of these at the eastern I-474 interchange.


I-74 WB with I-55 NB on the west side of Bloomington, featuring misaligned exit tabs and some of the only button copy left in the state (thanks to recent concerted efforts).


Westbound in Bloomington, last photo courtesy Michael Summa from 1979. I can't get enough of how Business is abbreviated "Busn." in Illinois instead of "Bus." My favorite shield variant is the one on the "EXIT EXIT 135" sign.


An old cutout US 150 shield makes a brief reappearance in 1979 between Bloomington and Champaign, where I-74 and US 150 form a freeway-surface pair, courtesy Michael Summa.


WB in Champaign at the beginning - no, wait, not the beginning of I-72, which actually ends into a one-way pair toward downtown. So the Exit 179A signs are missing a "TO." Also, they can share a single arrow, and don't need a line between as on the second sign.


Here's how the first photo in the previous run looked in 1979, courtesy Michael Summa. The line between the separate routes and destinations was more common back then, and I'd even expect the next sign to have two arrows. The correct way to display the sign would be "SOUTH 57 TO WEST 72 / Memphis / Decatur," and let signs on I-57 sort traffic between those destinations, but don't argue with 40-year-old button copy.


More fading brown background, on the WB Exit 183 ramp.


The next time anyone says political divisions are arbitrary, direct that person to these photos. Indiana was all clouds and rain, and it broke at a precise north-south line just after I crossed into Illinois.

Exit 93 to IL 29 alone

Into Iowa on I-74
Into Indiana on I-74
Downriver to IL 40
Downriver to IL 8-116
Exit 101 to I-155
Exit 160 to US 150
Exit 134 to I-55
Exit 135 to US 51
Exit 179 to I-57
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