Illinois Route 161

Illinois Route 161
	IL 161 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by IDOT
Length	67.24 mi[1] (108.21 km)
Existed	1926[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	St. Clair Avenue in Fairview Heights
	I-64 in New Baden; US 51 in Centralia; I-57 in Kell
East end	IL 37 in Kell
Location
Counties	St. Clair, Clinton, Marion
Highway system

Illinois Route 161 (abbreviated IL 161) is an east–west highway with its western terminus at St. Clair Avenue in Fairview Heights and its official eastern terminus at Illinois Route 37 near Kell. This is an official distance of 67.24 miles (108.21 km).[1]

The road continues, as various county routes, eastbound beyond Illinois 37 to Allendale at Illinois Route 1. To locals, this part of the highway is known as "The Extension", referring to the fact that road "Extends" on after its official end.

Route description

Illinois 161 runs along portions of what once was U.S. Route 50 west of Scott Air Force Base. East of Belleville, it becomes a rural, two-lane surface road. Inside the Centralia city limits, Illinois 161 is coupled into eastbound Noleman Street and westbound McCord Street.

History

SBI Route 161 originally ran from Belleville to Carlyle; in 1941 it was rerouted from Carlyle to IL 37 at its current eastern end, replacing IL 182.[3] In 1964 it was extended west to Fairview Heights.[2]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[4]	km	Destinations	Notes
St. Clair	Fairview Heights	0.0	0.0	IL 157 – Centreville, Caseyville	Western terminus of IL 161
	Swansea	6.5	10.5	IL 159 (Illinois St) – Fairview Heights, Belleville
		12.2	19.6	IL 158 east (Air Mobility Dr)	West end of IL 158 concurrency
		13.2	21.2	IL 158 west – Columbia	East end of IL 158 concurrency
	Mascoutah	17.6	28.3	IL 4 – Lebanon, Mascoutah
	New Baden	21.8	35.1	I-64 – East St. Louis, Mt. Vernon	I-64 exit 27
Clinton	New Baden	24.0	38.6	IL 160 – Trenton
Clinton		43.0	69.2	IL 127 – Carlyle, Nashville
Marion	Centralia	55.0	88.5	US 51 south (Poplar St) – Du Quoin	One-way pair
	Centralia	55.1	88.7	US 51 north (Elm St) – Vandalia	One-way pair
		66.0	106.2	I-57 – Effingham, Mt. Vernon	I-57 exit 109
		67.24	108.21	IL 37	Eastern terminus of IL 161
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus

References

Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
Carlson, Rich (2005-04-15). "Illinois Highways Page: Routes 161 thru 180". Retrieved 2006-07-22.
"New State Road Map Completed". Edwardsville Intelligencer. March 22, 1941. p. 2. Retrieved November 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
Google (March 9, 2017). "Overview Map of IL 161" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 9, 2017.

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[t2-1] Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.

[n9jig-2] Carlson, Rich (2005-04-15). "Illinois Highways Page: Routes 161 thru 180". Retrieved 2006-07-22.

[1941changes-3] "New State Road Map Completed". Edwardsville Intelligencer. March 22, 1941. p. 2. Retrieved November 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[Google_Maps-4] Google (March 9, 2017). "Overview Map of IL 161" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 9, 2017.