Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge

For bridges also named for Abraham Lincoln, see Blair Bridge (U.S. Route 30) and Lincoln Memorial Bridge.

Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge over the Illinois River, near LaSalle, Illinois.
Coordinates	41.3247°N 89.0769°W / 41.3247; -89.0769
Carries	Four lanes of I-39 / US 51
Crosses	Illinois River, IL 351, Illinois and Michigan Canal, Iowa Interstate Railroad, and Buzzi Unicem industrial rail lead (the former Illinois Central Railroad mainline).
Locale	LaSalle, Illinois and Oglesby, Illinois
Official name	Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge
Maintained by	Illinois Department of Transportation
ID number	000050019120847
Characteristics
Design	Through arch
Total length	2,170.8 metres (7,122.0 ft)[1]
Width	4 traffic lanes, 82 ft (25 m)[2]
Longest span	619.9 feet (189 m)[2]
Clearance above	19.3 feet (5.88 m)[2]
History
Opened	1987
Location

Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge in Illinois is a four-lane bidirectional road bridge that spans the Illinois River, Illinois Route 351, Illinois and Michigan Canal, and local roads and railroads. It carries Interstate 39 (I-39), a major north-south Interstate through central Illinois, and its U.S. Route counterpart, U.S. Route 51 (US 51).

Description

The bridge crosses the river between LaSalle and Oglesby, at river mile 225.8.[3] The structure comprises a main span over the river, flanked by 43 approach spans. It is named after Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States. The main span is a through-arch design, 620 feet (189.0 m) long. The clearance of this span over the river, from low steel of the bridge to normal water level in the pool below, is 66.0 feet (20.1 m).[3] With the approach spans, the total length of the structure is 7,120.8 feet (2,170.4 m). Its length makes it the longest bridge in Illinois.[4]

History

The bridge was built in 1987 when I-39 was first extended south to what is now Illinois Route 251. The highway itself has since been extended all the way to the Bloomington–Normal area. In 2007, the bridge was rehabilitated due to the poor performance of the existing precast deck panels and the frequent surfacing of potholes.[5] On October 31, 2008 the rehabilitation project was completed 15 days ahead of the contract requirement.[6]

See also

• Transport portal
• Engineering portal
• Illinois portal
• List of crossings of the Illinois River

References

1. Svirsky, Alexander. "Nationalbridges.com". Retrieved October 22, 2007.^[permanent dead link‍]
2. Baughn, James; et al. (2005). "Historic Bridges of the Midwest". Retrieved January 18, 2006.
3. Map no. 89 Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Illinois Waterway Mile 225.1 to 228, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1998).
4. Mall, Scott (February 23, 2022). "FreightWaves Classics/Infrastructure: I-39 serves rural Illinois and Wisconsin". FreightWaves. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
5. "Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge". Benesch. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
6. "IL: I-39 Abraham Lincoln Bridge Rehabilitation Project". America's Transportation Awards. February 7, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2024.

Looking east over the Illinois River on the bridge