John T. McNaughton Bridge

John T. McNaughton Bridge
View from Pekin Pier
Coordinates	40°34′35″N 89°39′34″W[1]
Carries	Illinois Route 9 - 4 lanes
Crosses	Illinois River
Locale	Pekin, Illinois
Other name(s)	Pekin Bridge
Maintained by	Illinois Department of Transportation
ID number	000090011405432
Characteristics
Design	Girder bridge
Total length	2,634 feet (803 m)
Width	78 feet (24 m)
Longest span	550 feet (170 m)
Clearance below	75 feet (23 m)
History
Opened	1982
Statistics
Daily traffic	13,900 (2005)
Location

The John T. McNaughton Bridge, also known as the Pekin Bridge, is a steel girder bridge that carries Illinois Route 9 over the Illinois River from downtown Pekin to Peoria County in central Illinois. The John T. McNaughton Bridge was built in 1982 to replace a steel truss with a movable span.^[2] The bridge was constructed with a 75 foot clearance in order to allow river navigation, and it has a length of 2,634 feet.^[2]

The bridge is named for John T. McNaughton, who was United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs^[3] and Robert S. McNamara's closest adviser during the Vietnam War. McNaughton was also a Harvard Law School professor. He died in a plane crash at age 45, less than two weeks before he would have become Secretary of the Navy.^[3]

References

1. "ILL 9 over ILLINOIS RIVER". Bridgereports.com. June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
2. Kravetz, Andy (2015-06-26). "Extra: Peoria's bridges over the Illinois River have interesting origins". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
3. Mossman, B. C.; M. W. Stark (1971). The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921-1969. Department of the Army. Archived from the original on 2008-12-28. Retrieved 2015-11-10.