PEORIA, Ill. – The completion of the new eastbound McClugage Bridge connecting Peoria and East Peoria is only months away.
Illinois Department of Transportation Construction Field Engineer Nick Volk says while the project is a little bit behind schedule, it could open to traffic in a few months.
“Right now, if all goes well, they’re hoping to have the bridge open by late-September to early-October. By right around early fall, at the latest, we’re hoping to get traffic on the new bridge,” Volk said.
Volk says there’s a couple big projects left to do on the bridge before it opens. One of those projects is setting the steel beams on the Peoria side of the bridge, which is near completion. The other is constructing the deck of the bridge, which Volk says could be done by mid-summer.
Volk says the bridge construction project is on-track financially, coming in at a price tag of just under $167 million.
Once the eastbound bridge is complete, the westbound bridge is next in line for work.
“We’re looking currently at construction years 2026 and 2027 right now,” Volk said. “To the best of my knowledge, that’s how long they expect it to take, is the better part of two years to rehab the westbound bridge.”
Volk says the current plan is to put a new deck on the westbound bridge, along with repairs and painting. He says while the westbound work is being done, traffic will go in both directions on the new eastbound bridge.
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