Illinois Route 116 (IL 116) is a 176.07-mile-long (283.36 km) cross-state rural state highway that runs from U.S. Route 34 (US 34) by Gladstone east to the intersection of US 45 (North Front Street) and Old US 45, on the north side of Ashkum.

U.S. Route 124 (US 124) was a U.S. Highway that was commissioned from 1926[3] to 1938,[4] and was located in Illinois, traveling from Peoria through Biggsville.

It was approximately 80 miles (130 km) in length,[citation needed] and followed much of the route of IL 116, prior to its decommissioning.

[7][8] In 1934, US 124 was rerouted west on the current IL 116 to near Biggsville, where it connected to US 34, for access to the Mississippi River crossing into Iowa.

This was due to the: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant near Burlington; active strip mining of coal in Fulton County (largely south of the route); farm livestock traffic to the Peoria stockyards; and grain transport (corn and soybeans) to the Illinois and Mississippi barge terminals.