Illinois Route 97
Illinois Route 97 is a north-south state highway in the central and western portions of the U.S. state of Illinois. It extends from I-55 Business in Springfield northwest to U.S. Highway 150 near Galesburg. It crosses over the Illinois River on a bridge west of Havana. This is a distance of.
Route description
IL 97 starts off in Springfield on East Clear Lake Avenue. It heads west, forming a concurrency with IL 125. IL 97 splits off and north shortly after, entering Menard County.In Menard County, along a concurrency with IL 123 in New Salem, it passes New Salem State Historic Site">New Salem (Menard County), Illinois">New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg, the home of Abraham Lincoln in the 1830s. It afterwards passes through Mason County. The road enters Fulton County immediately after crossing a bridge concurrent with US 136 and IL 78.
It then passes both the Emiquon [National Wildlife Refuge] and Dickson Mounds State Memorial. Afterwards, it drops the concurrency with IL 78 and US 136 but picks up U.S. [Route 24 in Illinois|US 24]. During and after it gains concurrency with IL 100, it heads north throughout hills. It enters Knox County after a brief concurrency with IL 9. It continues north through hills until its northern terminus at U.S. [Route 150 in Illinois|US 150] near Galesburg.