Crosses Illinois River Other name(s) The Pekin Bridge Opened 1982 Width 24 m Bridge type Girder bridge | Locale Pekin, Illinois ID number 000090011405432 Total length 803 m Location Pekin Body of water Illinois River | |
Carries Illinois Route 9 - 4 lanes Maintained by Illinois Department of Transportation Similar Abraham Lincoln Memorial, Ottawa Rail Bridge, Hardin Bridge, Cedar Street Bridge, Shade–Lohmann Bridge | ||
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. The bridge was constructed with a 75 foot clearance in order to allow river navigation, it has a length of 2,634 feet.
The bridge is named for John T. McNaughton, who was United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs 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.