^Northbound trailblazer at Illinois 161 south of Carlyle, February 2023.
Illinois Route 127 is a long north-south route in southwestern Illinois. It runs from a point halfway between Springfield and St. Louis, south almost all the way to Cairo. It connects seven county seats in a row, and that's part of what makes it an important route through rural southwestern Illinois.
Interstate 55's exit 63 is the common endpoint to Illinois 127 and Illinois 48. This is Illinois 127's northern endpoint, sending both routes heading east, concurrently from the interchange, toward Raymond:
Interstate 55's exit 63 is the common endpoint to Illinois 127 and Illinois 48. This is Illinois 127's northern endpoint, sending both routes heading east, concurrently from the interchange, toward Raymond:
Then, at Raymond, the generally-diagonal Illinois 48 turns northeasterly, while Illinois 127 splits off to head southerly:
Just west of Hillsboro, Illinois 127 joins Illinois 16 east:
In Hillsboro, the first of seven county seats traversed by Illinois 127, Illinois 16 splits off to continue east:
Just south of Hillsboro, at Taylor Springs, Illinois 185's western extent meets Illinois 127:
Near Greenville, after heading southerly, Illinois 127 joins Illinois 140 east for a bit...
Soon, the concurrency ends, and Illinois 127 splits from Illinois 140 to head south into the heart of Greenville:
In Greenville, which is the second county seat, Illinois 127 crosses US Route 40:
Shortly after that, Illinois 127 meets Interstate 70 at a folded diamond interchange...
Illinois 127 meets Illinois 143 at that route's eastern end, near the unincorporated community of Beaver Creek...
As Illinois 127 approaches Carlyle, US Route 50 joins from the west:
Then, in downtown Carlyle (county seat number three), US Route 50 splits from Illinois 127 to continue east:
Illinois 127 crosses Illinois 161 at Posey:
At New Minden, Illinois 127 encounters Illinois 177 at a 4-way intersection:
Approaching Nashville, Illinois 127 meets Interstate 64 at a diamond interchange:
In Nashville, the fourth county seat accessed by Illinois 127, the highway meets Illinois 15...
Then, the fifth county seat is reached, as Pinckneyville is home to Illinois 127's junction with Illinois 154, where Illinois 13 comes from the west to turn onto Illinois 127 south...
As one of Illinois's longest state highway concurrencies gets started, Illinois 127 and Illinois 13 encounter the western end of Illinois 152:
South of Vergennes, Illinois 127 and Illinois 13 continue southward together past the southeastern end of Illinois 4:
On the north side of Murphysboro, Illinois 149 comes from the east to form a triplicate concurrency with Illinois 127 and Illinois 13 going southward:
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After about one mile, the triplicate concurrency reaches a T-intersection, where Illinois 13 turns to go east, but Illinois 127 and Illinois 149 turn westerly:
A couple blocks west of that T-intersection, Illinois 127 splits off to continue south, whereas Illinois 149 continues west into downtown Murphysboro. This and the previous two junctions are in Murphysboro, the sixth of the seven county seats connected by Illinois 127:
After passing through Alto Pass and the heart of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, Illinois 127 reaches Illinois 146, and turns easterly to follow that route into Jonesboro:
At a long-standing roundabout in Jonesboro, the seventh and final county seat traversed by Illinois 127, the route splits from Illinois 146 to resume heading southward:
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Illinois 127 finally reaches its southern end at Illinois 3 in Alexander County, where travelers can continue south to Cairo (yet another county seat) or to Interstate 57.
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