Illinois Route 140

Illinois Route 140
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length	52.05 mi[1] (83.77 km)
Existed	1935[2] – present
Major junctions
West end	IL 143 in Alton
	I-55 in Hamel
East end	US 40 near Mulberry Grove
Location
Counties	Madison, Bond
Highway system
Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← IL 138 IL 141 →

Illinois Route 140 is an east–west highway with its western terminus at Illinois Route 143 in Alton and its eastern terminus at U.S. Route 40 near Mulberry Grove. It also overlaps Illinois Route 111 in Alton and Illinois Route 127 in Greenville. This is a distance of 52.05 miles (83.77 km).^[1]

Although this route may appear to be a derivative of US 40, it does not follow any of the old US 40 alignment except for a portion of the Historic National Road in Fayette County from US 40 to Vandalia. IDOT has since truncated the eastern end of Route 140 to the town of Mulberry Grove with the intersection of US 40.

In 2007, IDOT decommissioned the portion of Route 140 from near the Bond and Fayette County line at Mulberry Grove, east to Vandalia. While that section of highway is no longer marked for Route 140, the state still maintains its Historic National Road signage.

Route description

Route 140 begins at a junction with Route 143 in Alton. The route heads northeast through Alton to a junction with Illinois Route 3 and Illinois Route 111. From this junction, Route 140 heads east concurrently with Route 111. The highways run along the northern border of East Alton before entering Bethalto, where they meet Illinois Route 255. Shortly past the junction, Route 111 turns south, while Route 140 continues east, passing to the north of St. Louis Regional Airport. The highways runs through a rural area of Madison County, where it passes through the community of Meadow Brook and intersects Illinois Route 159. The road then enters the village of Hamel, where it intersects Illinois Route 157 and Interstate 55. Past Hamel, the route meets Illinois Route 4 before passing through Alhambra. The highway then intersects Illinois Route 160 before entering Bond County.^[3][4]

In Bond County, the route passes through farmland and runs south of Old Ripley. Past Old Ripley, the highway meets Illinois Route 127; the two highways overlap until Route 127 turns south at the western edge of Greenville. Route 140 continues east through northern Greenville, passing Greenville Regional Hospital. After leaving Greenville, the route heads east until turning north at an intersection north of Smithboro. The highway then heads east-northeast toward Mulberry Grove, parallel to and north of U.S. Route 40. In Mulberry Grove, the route enters along Wall Street before turning north along Maple Street. The highway then turns east along Main Street before leaving the village and entering Fayette County.^[5] The highway terminates east of Mulberry Grove at a junction with US 40.^[4][6]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[4]	km	Destinations	Notes
Madison	Alton	0.0	0.0	IL 143	Western terminus of IL 140
		3.0	4.8	IL 3 / IL 111	West end of IL 111 concurrency
	Bethalto	6.6	10.6	IL 255
		6.9	11.1	IL 111	East end of IL 111 concurrency
	​	11.9	19.2	IL 159
	Hamel	18.6	29.9	IL 157	Northern terminus of IL 157
		18.9	30.4	I-55
	​	20.9	33.6	IL 4
	​	28.0	45.1	IL 160	Northern terminus of IL 160
Bond	​	40.7	65.5	IL 127	West end of IL 127 concurrency
	Greenville	41.7	67.1	IL 127	East end of IL 127 concurrency
Fayette	​	51.9	83.5	US 40	Eastern terminus of IL 140
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

Route map: