Towanda, Illinois: Dead Man's Curve
A sharp curve on old Route 66 was the site of many accidents. Now a lightly-traveled side road, with a Dead Man's Curve historical marker and Burma-Shave signs urging drivers to go slow. Less ominous-looking than it sounds.
- Address:
- 203 Jackson St., Towanda, IL
- Directions:
- I-55 exit 171. Turn east toward town, then make the first right at the gas station onto Jackson St. You'll see Dead Man's Curve straight ahead.
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Dead Man's Curve was the site of many disastrous accidents from the late 1920s through the 1950s. This curve was part of the original Route 66 that was built around Towanda in 1927. Travelers from Chicago, unfamiliar with a road and accustomed to fast speeds, caused many of these accidents. The volume of travel on the original Route 66 and Dead Man's Curve dropped dramatically with construction of the 1954 alignment.
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