Bridges in Peoria, Illinois

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Peoria, Illinois and East Peoria, Illinois are separated by the Illinois River, a 240 mile long body of water that reaches up to a mile across in places along Peoria Lake. The Illinois River is one of six rivers that are included in the Lower Illinois River Basin which extends between Ottawa, Illinois and and the MIssissippi River at Grafton, IL. Three of the six rivers in the Lower Illinois River Basin (Spoon, Illinois and Mackinaw) are in central Illinois. Their combined length is 534 nautical miles. Of these waterways the Illinois is thought to be the only river large enough to support barge traffic.

In the Peoria area, there are six bridges that cross the Illinois River. Because of the topography of the cities, alignments of the numerous state routes that cross the Illinois River can be somewhat confusing. However, these routes are generally well marked. All bridges that span the Illinois River are required to be built a minimum of 70 feet above the average river level, as the Illinois River is a main route for river traffic that regularly moves between New Orleans and Chicago. The Illinois River is part of a waterway system that bagins in New Orleans, Louisiana and exits the Atlantic Ocean via Chicago and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Bridges in this article are listed from south to north.

Contents 1 Travel Central Illinois 2 Shade-Lohman Bridge 3 Cedar Street Bridge 4 Bob Michel Bridge 5 Murray Baker Bridge 6 McClugage Bridge / Iron Workers' Memorial Bridge 7 External resources

[edit] Travel Central Illinois

[edit] Shade-Lohman Bridge

Interstate 74 commences at Danville on the Indiana border, transverses the Illinois prairie to cross five major byways in central Illinois before it exits at Bettendorf, iowa.
1. 1-39 begins at Bloominton-Normal and ends at the Wisconsin border a few miles north of Rockford, Illinois.
2. 1-55 a busy corridor that begins at St. Louis, passes through the capitol city of Springfield to end at Chicago.
3. IL. 29 begins near the Springfield Regional Airport and ends at 1-80.
4. US 24 is a major E-W artery between Quincy, Illinois and Kentland, Indiana.
5. IL. 78 is a N-S artery between Jacksonville, Illinois and the Wisconsin state border at Apple River.
Note: The 1-74 corridor between Bloomington and Peoria is normally very busy from early morning to well past midnight. Travelers in the Peoria area utilize six bridges to cross the Illinois River: McCluggage, Murray Baker, Bob Michel, Cedar Street, Shade-Lohman, or the Pekin Bridge which is located a short few miles south of Bartonville.

Beginning at Morton, Illinois, Interstate 474 is a modern four-lane highway that redirects traffic away from 1-74 and dowtown Peoria, Illinois. It reconnects travelers to I-74 outside the western most city limits.

The Shade-Lohman Bridge at Interstate 474 spans the Illinois River near the Peoria Lock and Dam located at River Mile 158.0 in Tazewell County, and provides a convenient connection between IL 9 and US 24 near Bartonville. Built in 1975, the bridge was named after Pekin's former Mayor and Illinois Legislator, Norman Shade, and Martin B. Lohman who served in the Illinois Legislature continuously from 1923-1953.

[edit] Cedar Street Bridge

The Cedar Street Bridge carries Illinois Route 8, Illinois Route 29, and Illinois Route 116 over the Illinois River. It is about a mile and a half southwest from downtown. The bridge is a simple steel arch bridge that towers approximately 70 to 80 feet above the surface of the river, and is the shortest span of the five. The name of the bridge comes from the original name of its street on the Peoria side of the river; the street itself is now called MacArthur Highway, while the bridge is still referred to as Cedar Street.

[edit] Bob Michel Bridge

The Bob Michel Bridge carries Illinois Route 40 over the Illinois River just three quarters of a mile up-river from the Cedar Street Bridge. Illinois 40 terminates at the end of a ramp just east of the bridge. This bridge is structurally similar to the Cedar Street Bridge, and serves industrial areas on both sides of the bridge. A large area on the East Peoria side is now being redeveloped for retail, with development occurring at a rapid pace.

The Bob Michel Bridge is named after former Congressman Robert H. Michel, a Peoria-area Republican who served as a Congressman from 1956 to 1995 and as House Minority Leader from 1981 until his retirement.

[edit] Murray Baker Bridge

Main article: Murray Baker Bridge

The Murray Baker Bridge is a landmark truss bridge that carries Interstate 74 over the Illinois River from downtown Peoria, Illinois to East Peoria. It was built in 1958 with an original span of 3,216 feet (980.2 m). In 2005, the bridge was shortened to 3,036 feet (925.3 m).

[edit] McClugage Bridge / Iron Workers' Memorial Bridge

The Iron Workers' Memorial Bridge carries U.S. Route 24 and U.S. Route 150 over Upper Peoria Lake. It was so named after an accident in 2000 killed three iron workers' when scaffolding on the bridge collapsed 60 feet into the river. The bridge's other, more common, name honors David H. McClugage, mayor of Peoria from 1937 to 1941. The route is actually two steel cantilever bridges, side by side, with three lanes on the westbound bridge and two on the eastbound bridge.

[edit] External resources

• All the Bridges Are Fit to Cross - a short article about the bridges' names