IL 9 was established in 1918 as one of the original 46
State Bond Issue Route (SBI) routes. The routing of IL 9 has had two major changes since its establishment. The original western terminus was in
Hamilton, at the old
Keokuk Rail Bridge completed in 1916 and then proceeded east through
Carthage and
Macomb (
county seats of
Hancock and
McDonough counties), east of Macomb, southwest of
New Philadelphia, the highway turned north to
Bushnell and then proceeded east along the current IL 9 alignment to
Canton,
Peoria County, and Pekin. • US 136, Hamilton to New Philadelphia, •
IL 41, New Philadelphia to Bushnell • IL 9, Bushnell to Indiana state line. This current highway moved north to terminate in
Niota at the
Fort Madison Toll Bridge (longest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world) after its completion in July 1928. The route parallels the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Mississippi River to
Dallas City then turns slightly southeast to
LaHarpe. From LaHarpe, the highway parallels the original
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway right-of way to Bushnell. From 1935 to 1937, IL 9 traveled a different route from Pekin to Bloomington, that original route is now posted as: •
IL 29, Pekin to
North Pekin, •
IL 98, North Pekin to
Morton, • US 150, Morton to Bloomington. ==Future==