Illinois Route 336 - History

History

In the mid 1990s, the road west from Springfield to south of Quincy, U.S. 36, was cosigned Interstate 72. As a result of this change, Illinois 336 from Fall Creek at the current junction with Interstate 72, north to Fowler, was renamed from I-72/Illinois 336 to simply Interstate 172. Interestingly, this spur serves no cities directly — it is effectively an eastern bypass around Quincy on its current alignment. Regardless, the upgrade of U.S. 36 to Interstate standards provided Quincy with a much needed regional expressway. Interstate 172 is a non-chargeable Interstate Highway, inasmuch it was built entirely with state funds designated as the original Illinois 336, until it received its Interstate 172 designation.

The completion of Interstate 72 left only one other area in the state without regional freeway access — the area between Galesburg and Quincy. Specifically, Macomb and Western Illinois University are currently an hour and a half from the nearest Interstate highways between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers in Illinois, Interstate 74 to the north and Interstate 72 to the south.