With work now underway on the first phase of a three-part reconstruction of the Cedar Street Bridge, the project highlights East Peoria’s collaboration with the Illinois Department of Transportation.
“The interesting thing with East Peoria is the majority of our major thoroughfares are either state or federal highways,” said Ty Livingston, the city’s director of planning and community development. “So, it's something that we have to regularly interface with them and work together in getting complete.”
Livingston said the city has been involved in IDOT's planning with multiple bridge upgrades for several years. With the revamped Bob Michel Bridge now open, attention can shift to the Cedar Street Bridge.
“I think it's a matter of timing. They needed to figure out how to stage what's going on with the Cedar Street with the Bob Michel,” said Livingston. “A few years ago, they [IDOT] had come to us and they said, ‘Hey, what do you want us to do here?
“The city's preference was, ‘Let's do it sooner than later and get that knocked out’ because it's always easier if you've got the funding in place to take care of the project and get it done.”
The $15 million initial stage of the Cedar Street Bridge project focuses largely on the East Peoria side of the Illinois River, with pavement upgrades, bridge rehab, and other improvements, particularly around the Edmund Street junction.
IDOT said the 92-year-old bridge will stay open to traffic, but the work will require lane closures expected to last most of this year.
Livingston noted the Cedar Street Bridge carries about 12,500 vehicles daily, compared with more than 50,000 on the Murray Baker Bridge over Interstate 74, and between 15,000 and 20,000 per day on the Bob Michel Bridge.
“But it still a significant amount, especially for folks that use that bridge on a daily basis to get to work or to get home. That's going to certainly put a cramp in the schedule,” he said. “The beauty of our area is we have a lot of infrastructure that's already in place. To have three bridges crossing the river within a half-mile of one another, that's hard to beat. Even if you have to close down a bridge, there's still ample opportunities to get around and not run into too bad of traffic.”
Livingston said the bigger traffic impact may come when the project moves into the second phase next year.
“One of the stages that we've been ramping up for, and as I understand it is going to be out for bid later this year to commence next year, it’s going to be two construction seasons where the interchange with Main Street is going to be closed down,” said Livingston, noting the ramps are specifically targeted for improvement.
“Right now, there's a particularly very tight ramp as you come off the Cedar Street and go southbound on Route 29, or Main Street, that has caused more than a few hangups over the years. But certainly all the rampings that are involved, the ramps will get a lot smoother, a lot easier to navigate and can handle a lot better for traffic.”
Livingston said another example of East Peoria’s collaboration with IDOT is this summer’s renovation of East Washington Street from Main Street to I-74.
“That's something where the city received some funding through the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, but then there's also a portion of it that goes underneath the interstate that's going to be funded by IDOT,” he said. “But we're doing it all together in concert because it makes sense to do it at the same time as opposed to independent projects.”
Livingston said his understanding of IDOT’s plan has work on the main span of the bridge in the final phase.
“It’s going to be the one that actually reworks some of the steel work on the bridge. I don't know if it involves a re-decking or resurfacing,” he said. “That one also is going to be phased with lane closures, but still allow traffic to come across. So it won't be like what they did with the Bob Michel here last year, or the Murray Baker in 2020.”
Livingston said East Peoria took the opportunity provided by the Cedar Street Bridge work to pursue an adjacent project for pedestrians.
“One thing relating to this project that is going on with the Edmund Street interchange this year is, we received some Federal Transit Administration money to complete a sidewalk connection along the CEFCU property,” he said. “That will connect into the already existing sidewalks that are at the interchange, and then all the sidewalk network that we've developed in the Levee District.
“That's something that hasn't existed up to this point, so it's nice to have that pedestrian accommodation. That's work that’s going to be done yet this spring, so it’s very exciting to tie into this project.”
