^Northbound trailblazer leading away from Illinois 15 in Fayetteville, April 2020.
Illinois Route 4 runs mostly north-south in central and southwestern Illinois. Its northern end is in Springfield, and it heads south along a former alignment of US Route 66 until northeast of St. Louis; then it heads south through some far exurban outskirts of the Metro-East before curving southeasterly to end north of Murphysboro. It connects a long list of decently-sized small towns together.
Illinois 4's intersections will be listed from southeast to northwest, since that's the orientation I was facing as I drove it. Side note: how fitting that I drove Illinois Route numbered "4" in the month numbered "4". You can tell I did my clinch of this route in April by the flowering trees like those in the cover photo above!
Illinois 4 gets its start heading west from the duplex of Illinois 13 and Illinois 127, about five miles north of Murphysboro:
Illinois 4's intersections will be listed from southeast to northwest, since that's the orientation I was facing as I drove it. Side note: how fitting that I drove Illinois Route numbered "4" in the month numbered "4". You can tell I did my clinch of this route in April by the flowering trees like those in the cover photo above!
Illinois 4 gets its start heading west from the duplex of Illinois 13 and Illinois 127, about five miles north of Murphysboro:
Illinois 4 heads west, turning northwesterly in the small town of Ava, where it meets the northern end of Illinois 151:
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Between Percy and Cutler, Illinois 4 joins Illinois 150 into Percy:
After spending about five miles on Illinois 150, Illinois 4 turns northerly off of that route:
In Sparta, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 154:
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Near Tilden, Illinois 4 joins Illinois 13 west (and yes, Illinois 13 is the route where Illinois 4 started, but here it is again)...
At Marissa, Illinois 4 splits from Illinois 13 to head north again:
Illinois 4 joins another route west at St. Libory; this time, it's Illinois 15:
At the tiny town of Fayetteville, Illinois 4 splits from Illinois 15 to resume going northward:
At the central crossroads of Mascoutah, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 177:
On the north side of Mascoutah, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 161:
On the east side of Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 4 meets an interchange with Interstate 64:
US Route 50 comes from the west to join Illinois 4 north into Lebanon:
In the heart of Lebanon, Illinois, Illinois 4 sends US Route 50 to continue eastward on its own:
Near St. Jacob, Illinois 4 passes over US Route 40 on an overpass, but a small connector in the northeast quadrant provides access:
Southwest of Marine, Illinois 4 meets an interchange with Interstate 70:
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Near Marine, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 143:
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West of Alhambra, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 140:
Illinois 4 is heading due north here, and Interstate 55 crosses from southwest to northeast with an interchange:
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At Benld (pronounced "Ben-ulled"), a town name with too many consonants, Illinois 138 joins from the east for a short spell, and Illinois Routes 4 and 138 have a short concurrency together:
By Mount Clare, Illinois 138 splits from Illinois 4 to continue westward:
At Gillespie, Illinois 4 joins its square (in math terms), Illinois 16, eastward:
After spending five blocks together, Illinois 4 splits from Illinois 16 to resume going north toward Springfield:
As Illinois 4 gets into Carlinville, it joins Illinois 108 west:
At Carlinville's central town square, which functions as a roundabout, Illinois 108 splits from Illinois 4:
In Auburn, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 104:
As Illinois 4 enters Springfield, it meets an interchange with Interstate 72...
On the west side of Springfield, Illinois 4 crosses Illinois 97, which runs east-west in this area:
Illinois 4 wraps around the west and north sides of Springfield, and on the north side of town, the eastbound Illinois 4 is joined by Illinois 29 from the north...
Illinois 4 ends on the north side of Springfield, at Business Loop 55, as Illinois 29 turns to the south:
