New Illinois River Span Floated Into Place In Peoria

After a year of construction, the main span of a new bridge across the Illinois River has been floated and lifted into place.

Pat Ryan, American Bridge Company’s project manager for the eastbound span of the McClugage Bridge, in Peoria, Ill., said everything went well when the span was floated from assembly site, 300 yards south, and lifted into place December 19-20.

The tied-arch span is 652 feet long and is 130 feet tall at the top of the arch.

The bridge crosses the river’s navigation channel at Mile 165.8. It carries cars and trucks via U.S. 150.

Veritas Steel fabricated the arch span, and American Bridge Company assembled it at the job site, just downstream of the bridge’s location. McDonough Marine provided the four jumbo deck barges used to float the 7-million-pound structure. Hamm’s Frontier Marine LLC of Chillicothe, Ill., provided the boats that pushed the barges and maneuvered the span so that it could be lowered onto the piers using hydraulic jacks. They were the mv. Karen Renee Ham and the mv. John F. Walker. The river was closed to marine traffic for less than 48 hours so the work could be completed.

“There was a lot of planning that went into this float-in operation, and I thought we were prepared on our end to execute it in the timeframe we were given by the Coast Guard,” Ryan said.

Now that the span is in place, crews will tension its hangers and finish the road deck. It is expected to open to vehicles by the fall.

The Illinois Department of Transportation owns the bridge. The new bridge is three lanes wide and includes a multiuse path. The previous bridge was two lanes and more than 70 years old. IDOT has said the new bridge will improve safety and reduce travel times while also accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians. More information about the project and video of portions of the bridge span float and lift are available at mcclugagebridge.com.

Caption for photo: The new eastbound span of the McClugage Bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria, Ill., was floated 300 yards from the assembly site on jumbo barges before being lifted into place. The bridge carries U.S. 150 at Illinois River Mile 165.8. (Photo by Capt. Tony Ice)