Existed: 1938 – present Length 111.6 km | East end: US 34 in Oswego Constructed 1938 | |
West end: IL 26 / I-180 in Hennepin Major cities Oswego, Yorkville, Ottawa, Oglesby Counties Putnam County, Illinois, LaSalle County, Kendall County, Illinois | ||
Illinois Route 71 is a 66-mile-long (106 km) southwest-to-northeast state highway in north central Illinois. It runs from the end of Interstate 180 in Hennepin to U.S. Route 34 in Oswego. This is a distance of 69.37 miles (111.64 km).
Contents
Map of IL-71, Illinois, USA
Route description
Outside of Hennepin, the road stretches east to an intersection with Interstate 39 near Oglesby, paralleling I-39 to the north for several miles on a concurrency with Illinois Route 351 before turning eastward again near LaSalle-Peru.
Between LaSalle-Peru and Ottawa, Route 71 parallels the south bank of the Illinois River and passes Starved Rock State Park. It then crosses the Illinois River on a simple four-lane girder bridge. It overlaps Illinois Route 23 through downtown Ottawa and U.S. Route 6 east from Route 23 before intersecting with Interstate 80. From here it continues to the northeast, passing through Norway, Newark, and Yorkville. Its eastern terminus is near downtown Oswego at an intersection with U.S. Highway 34 and Wolfs Crossing Road.
The now defunct Prairie Parkway project, a limited-access highway, would interchange with Route 71 southwest of High Point Road near Yorkville.
The northern terminus in Oswego is currently under construction, roughly from US 34 to Orchard Road, which is slated to expand the route to two lanes each direction, with a turn lane included. There are also current plans to build a silica sand mine off of IL 71 near Starved Rock State Park, pending final approval by the City of Ottawa. The plan is currently opposed by environmental groups due to the intended use of the sand in fracking practices and the potential damage caused by airborne dust and blasting operations.
Points of interest
Just south of Norway, there is a memorial dedicated to Norwegian immigrants who settled in the area, with a small park, a cemetery, and a plaque from King Olav V. This memorial commemorates the Fox River Settlement. Dating from 1834, this was the location of the first permanent Norwegian-American immigrant settlement in the Midwest.
Near E. 26th Road, south of Norway, Illinois, there is also a crashed airplane which serves as a "memorial" of sorts to commemorate the 1980s agricultural crash, which affected the rural farming county.