Signs to be added to downtown Route 66 alignment in Lincoln

The city of Lincoln, Illinois, soon will add signs to direct travelers to a more-obscure 1926-1930 alignment through downtown.

The Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway announced this week it worked with the city and the Illinois Department of Transportation to update Route 66 signs in Lincoln, including the 1926-1930 alignment through its historic downtown that passes by The Mill landmark.

It was the same week Lincoln committed to funding another $4,755 to building a handicap accessible restroom at The Mill, a former Route 66 restaurant that’s slated to reopen as a local historical museum in the spring.

According to a news release:

“The City of Lincoln has made an historic contribution to Route 66 with both these initiatives,” said Geoff Ladd, who is Program Manager of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, as well as board member and past president of the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County. This is a great 90th birthday gift to Route 66 from the City of Lincoln. We couldn’t have done it without them and we are grateful,” said Ladd.

Both initiatives will benefit each other, according to Ladd, noting that The Mill, once it opens as a Route 66 museum in April, will be promoting the historic downtown and other attractions in Lincoln and Logan County. “The Byway feels that the best way to find Abraham Lincoln is from traveling Route 66. Central Illinois is the only part of all of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica where the histories of Abraham Lincoln and Route 66 converge, and this is a great opportunity for tourism and economic development in Lincoln and along Illinois Route 66,” said Ladd.

The release stated the new signs should be installed in 30 to 60 days.

I asked Ladd in an email to clarify where the 1926-1930 alignment went in Lincoln. He replied:

Heading southbound, we are adding the 1926-30 alignment beginning at the intersection of N. Kickapoo and Keokuk. The 1930-40 alignment will continue to be an option (turns right at that intersection). The “new” alignment will continue going straight on N. Kickapoo to Broadway (the corner of N. Kickapoo and Broadway is the historic downtown district). It will then turn right on Broadway and go down to Logan (5th St) and reconnects to that existing intercity alignment. As it heads south on 5th St (as before), it will turn left at Washington St. and go by The Mill to Lincoln Parkway (it’s not called Postville Drive) on it’s way south out of town. It will be signed in reverse northbound of course as well.

So we will have a 1926-30 alignment that for the first time goes by the Mill and the downtown.

We’ll still have in Lincoln a 1930-40 alignment and the 40-77 alignment on Lincoln Parkway.

The older alignment on the city’s southwest side also goes by historic Union-Station Cemetery and dead-ends at the so-called Ghost Bridge — remnants of a bridge over Salt Creek that was dismantled many years ago.

I refreshed my memory of that alignment with Google Street View. The downtown Lincoln area does hold a mess of historic riches.

(Image of Route 66 directional sign in Illinois by Mike Linksvayer via Flickr)