End of US highway 124
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Steven
Nelson; me
| Approx. time period | East terminus | West terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1934 | Peoria, IL | Galesburg, IL |
| 1934-1939 | Peoria, IL | (near Biggsville, IL) |
US 124 was an original 1926 route. It was a fairly important road - connecting US 24 in Peoria to US 34 at Galesburg - but it was quite short (less than 60 miles). I'm guessing at the exact locations of these historic endpoints; if you have info that confirms or refutes my theories, please let me know!
US 124 came into Peoria on what is now IL 116 (Lincoln Avenue). Today that designation follows Adams Street and Cedar Street/Mac Arthur Highway to get to US 24 on Washington Street. Joe Reda sent a 1937 map that shows this was US 124's route as well. However, it also suggests that Adams might have been the original main road all the way through town, and that Washington was later used to expedite traffic flow. So if Adams carried the original US 24, then US 124 would've ended on Lincoln at Adams:
Nelson,
May 2008
Adams is now one-way road, but I doubt it was that way during the 1920s and '30s. The view above is the perspective of the driver of the van in the shot below. In other words, he has just reached the end of Lincoln, and possibly the original east end of US 124:
Nelson,
May 2008
That's looking southwest on Adams, which may have been the original westbound US 24. If so, then US 124 would've begun to the right on Lincoln. But as I've said: by the time of the 1937 map, US 24 traffic was using Washington instead of Adams. So from the end of Lincoln, US 124 extended northeast on Adams for one block, then southeast on Cedar/MacArthur another two blocks, ending at Washington:
me, Oct. 2002
That's the Cedar Street Bridge ahead, over the railyards and the Illinois River into East Peoria. At the time, eastbound US 24 went that way, while westbound was to the right on Washington. Below we're looking southwest on Washington (westbound US 24):
me, Oct. 2002
To the right on Mac Arthur was the east beginning of US 124.
From Peoria, US 124 followed IL 116 almost to Farmington; IL 78 north; IL 8 west; and IL 97 northwest to its original terminus in Galesburg. Back in the 1920's and 30's, US 34 may have been routed through town on Main Street, and then north on Lincoln Street along the railroad. If so, then US 124 would've ended on Main at Lincoln. There was nothing interesting to photograph there, other than just the street signs themselves:
me, Oct. 2002
Eastbound US 34 would've been to the lower left on Lincoln; westbound 34 would've been to the lower right on Main, and westbound US 124 would've begun ahead on Main. At some point though, US 34 bypassed downtown by going north on Henderson Street, then east on Fremont Street, then northeast on Lincoln. If that happened before 1934, then US 124 likely would've ended on Main at Henderson. Here's that perspective:
me, Oct. 2002
That's west on Main; US 124 may have ended here. Westbound US 34 would've been ahead, and eastbound would've been to the right. Below is the perspective from historic US 34 westbound, which would've turned left ahead:
me, Oct. 2002
US 124 would've begun straight ahead. Incidentally, US 34 today is on a bypass around the west and north sides of the city. US 150 was extended through Peoria and Galesburg in 1934, and it used a more direct route between the two cities than 124 did...
...so presumably at that time it was felt that the US 124 designation would be better applied to the Peoria - Burlington IA corridor. So then from Peoria it continued west on IL 116 through Farmington, all the way to its western terminus at US 34, two miles west of Biggsville IL. Here's what that intersection looks like today:
me, Oct. 2002
Historic US 124 ended here - we're heading due north at this point. US 34 is the crossroad; Burlington is about 15 miles to the left. Below is the perspective from eastbound US 34:
me, Oct. 2002
The west beginning of US 124 was once to the right.
US 124 was decommissioned in 1939, presumably because of its short length: despite its western extension, it was still only about 80 miles long.