^Westbound US Route 136 crossing the Illinois River at Havana, January 2021.
US Route 136 runs east-west across central Illinois, staying in rural areas. The western third of the route carries traffic from Keokuk, at the southernmost tip of Iowa, to Macomb and Havana. The eastern two-thirds of the route is one of the straightest, more boring drives I have ever seen. It manages to stay south of Peoria and Bloomington, but north of Springfield, Decatur, and Champaign-Urbana, keeping it in uneventful territory. Just before entering Indiana, US Route 136 cuts south to Danville to follow alongside Interstate 74.
The western extent of US Route 136's distance in the state of Illinois is a crossing over the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa:
The western extent of US Route 136's distance in the state of Illinois is a crossing over the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa:
In, Hamilton, Illinois, the town on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River across from Keokuk, Iowa, Illinois 96 comes from the north and joins US Route 136 east...
After about two-thirds of a mile, US Route 136 sends Illinois 96 to split off south out of downtown Hamilton...
In Carthage, Illinois, US Route 136 meets Illinois 94, which joins from the north:
After US Route 136 and Illinois 94 leave Carthage, an interchange with Illinois 336 allows US Route 136 to join Illinois 336 east as Illinois 94 joins Illinois 336 in the other direction:
US Route 136 and Illinois 336 head east together, and they reach the northern end of Illinois 61:
Shortly after that, US Route 136 serves as the surface road alternative to the Illinois 336 expressway, splitting away to head into the town of Tennessee, Illinois...
After passing through Tennessee and Colchester, US Route 136 heads for Macomb, meeting a fountain interchange with the Illinois 336 expressway which crosses from south to north...
In downtown Macomb, US Route 136 is joined by a southbound US Route 67...
Once US Routes 67 and 136 leave Macomb, US Route 67 splits from US Route 136 to head south again:
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Six miles after that fork in the road, US Route 136 meets the southern end of Illinois 41:
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South of Lewistown, US Route 136 joins US Route 24 and Illinois 100 southward...
After the triplicate concurrency has lasted two miles, US Route 136 and Illinois 100 both split from US Route 24 to head eastward:
After another two miles, Illinois 100 splits from US Route 136 to head south...
On the west side of the Illinois River, just across the bridge from Havana, Illinois Routes 78 and 97 both come from the north on the same highway to join US Route 136 east into town:
Just past the bridge over the Illinois River, Illinois 78 splits from US Route 136 to head south in Havana, leaving Illinois 97 to continue east on US Route 136 some more:
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Before leaving the town of Havana, US Route 136 sends Illinois 97 to split away and head southeast:
About ten miles east of Havana, US Route 136 reaches the western end of Illinois 10...
US Route 136 is joined by Illinois 29, which heads north out of Mason City to reach US Route 136:
After a three-mile duplex, Illinois 29 departs from US Route 136 to continue northward...
Near Emden, US Route 136 meets a diamond interchange with Interstate 155...
South of Armington, US Route 136 meets a weird "136A" state spur up to Armington:
At McLean, US Route 136 meets an interchange with Interstate 55...
Then, at Heyworth, US Route 136 meets an interchange with US Route 51:
South of LeRoy, US Route 136 meets an interchange with Interstate 74...
About a mile past that interchange, US Route 136 crosses US Route 150 for the first time:
US Route 136 crosses the diagonal Illinois 54 near Bellflower:
US Route 136 then crosses Illinois 47 just before reaching the town of Fisher...
At Rantoul, US Route 136 meets a partial-cloverleaf with Interstate 57...
In Rantoul, US Route 136 crosses US Route 45...
Near the tiny town of Armstrong, US Route 136 joins Illinois 49 south for a bit...
After a short concurrency, US Route 136 splits from Illinois 49 to head easterly again...
West of the small town of Alvin, US Route 136 joins Illinois 1 south at a 4-way intersection where the eastern leg is the beginning of Illinois 119:
In Danville, US Route 136 turns easterly off of Illinois 1 and ricochets off of US Route 150, which joins Illinois 1 south from the west leg of the intersection:
US Route 136 enters Indiana alongside the Danville Correctional Center, just north of Interstate 74's crossing into Indiana...