McClugage Bridge

The McClugage Bridge carries U.S. Route 150 over Upper Peoria Lake & Peoria Lake in the Illinois River in the US state of Illinois. The bridge's official name honors David H. McClugage, mayor of Peoria from 1937 to 1941. The crossing is actually composed of two bridges, one carrying westbound traffic and one carrying eastbound traffic.

McClugage Bridge
McClugage Bridge from the east side of the Illinois River.
Coordinates40°43′12″N 89°32′45″W
Carries5 lanes (3 WB, 2 EB) of US 150
CrossesIllinois River
LocalePeoria, Illinois
Official nameMcClugage Bridge
Maintained byIllinois Department of Transportation
ID numberWB: 000090011505461
EB: 000090007019729[1]
Characteristics
DesignDual Cantilever bridges
Total length4,745.1 ft (1446.3 m)[1]
WidthWB: 39.0 ft (11.9 m)
EB: 28.9 ft (8.8 m)[1]
Longest span190 m
Load limitWB: 77.2 metric tons
EB: 55.8 metric tons[1]
Clearance below14.9 m[1]
History
OpenedWB: 1982
EB: 1948, reconstructed 2000
Statistics
Daily traffic40,400 (combined)[2]
Location

Southern span
Ironworkers Memorial, located near Grand View Drive

The original span of the McClugage Bridge was designed as a steel cantilever bridge in 1939[3] to replace the Upper Free Bridge, an existing bridge across a narrow stretch of Upper Peoria Lake. Due to World War II, the bridge was not completed until 1948.[4] The southern span was rehabilitated in 2000. During rehabilitation, an accident in 2000 killed three iron workers when scaffolding on the bridge collapsed 62 feet (19 m) into the river. Due to this tragedy, there was an effort to change the name of the bridge to "Ironworkers Memorial Bridge". However, instead of the name change, the iron workers were memorialized by a monument near the bridge that was dedicated in April 2001.[5]

Northern span

An additional three-lane span of similar style was constructed immediately north of the existing bridge in 1982.[3] Currently, the northern span carries westbound traffic and the original southern two-lane span carries eastbound traffic.

References
  1. "National Bridge Inventory Database Search - 2012". nationalbridges.com.
  2. Illinois Department of Transportation (2003). "Getting Around Illinois: Average Annual Daily Traffic". Archived from the original on February 19, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  3. http://www.hanson-inc.com/bridges/bridges_mcclugage.htm%5B%5D
  4. "Bridgehunter.com - McClugage Bridge". bridgehunter.com.
  5. Peoria Journal Star, April 19, 2001


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