For some commuters, the Bob Michel Bridge's reopening might be one of the best Christmas presents you could ask for.
The bridge reopened Saturday after a nine-month, $24.3 million maintenance and lane reconfiguration project.
The Bob Michel Bridge got a new deck for the first time since its 1993 construction.
The narrow sidewalks on either side of the bridge were also replaced with a new 14-foot wide pedestrian and bicycle path that's now separated from traffic by a concrete barrier.
The bridge carries Illinois Route 40 over the Illinois River, connecting East Peoria's Levee and riverfront shopping districts to downtown Peoria.
The Bob Michel Bridge is named after the Peoria congressman and House Minority Leader who represented the area for 38 years. He retired in 1995 and died in 2017.
The bridge replaced the old Franklin Street Bridge.
