The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately 273 miles (439 km) long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of 28,756.6 square miles (74,479 km2). The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers in the Chicago metropolitan area, and it generally flows to the southwest across Illinois, until it empties into the Mississippi near Grafton, Illinois. Its drainage basin extends into southeastern Wisconsin, northwestern Indiana, and a very small area of southwestern Michigan in addition to central Illinois. Along its shores are several river ports, including Peoria, Illinois. Historic recreation areas on the river include Starved Rock and the internationally important wetlands of the Emiquon Complex and Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.
Tazewell County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 131,343. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze."
Pekin is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area, after Peoria itself. As of the 2020 census, its population is 31,731. A small portion of the city limits extend into Peoria County. It is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Peoria is a city in and county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Peoria metropolitan area in Central Illinois, consisting of the counties of Fulton, Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford, which had a population of 402,391 in 2020.
East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,484 at the 2020 census. East Peoria is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc. facilities.
Illinois Route 29 is a two to four lane state highway that runs south from U.S. Route 6/Illinois Route 89 at Spring Valley to U.S. Route 51/Illinois Route 16 at Pana, running through Pekin, Peoria and Springfield. The nearest major north–south highway, Interstate 39, runs parallel to Illinois 29, but approximately fifty miles to the east. Illinois 29 is 175.36 miles (282.21 km) long.
The Murray Baker Bridge is a landmark cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 74 (I-74) and Illinois Route 29 (IL 29) over the Illinois River from downtown Peoria to East Peoria in central Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Murray Baker Bridge was built in 1958, and had an original length of 3,216 feet (980 m).
John Theodore McNaughton born in Bicknell, Indiana, was United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and Robert S. McNamara's closest advisor. He died in a plane crash at age 45, just before he was to become Secretary of the Navy.
Interstate 155 (I-155) is a north–south spur of I-55 that provides an Interstate connection for the Illinois cities of Peoria and Lincoln. The northern terminus is just east of Peoria, at I-74 exit 101 in Morton. The southern terminus, which is northwest of Lincoln, is located on I-55 at exit 127. The highway is 32.13 miles (51.71 km) long.
The Rock Island Trail State Park is a 26-mile (42 km) long public rail trail in the west-central region of the U.S. state of Illinois. It was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2003.
Illinois Route 9 is a 218.31-mile-long (351.34 km) cross-state, east–west rural state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. It travels from Niota at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, that crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa, eastward across central Illinois to State Road 26 at the Indiana state line.
U.S. Route 24 (US 24) in the U.S. state of Illinois is a major arterial road that runs from the Missouri state line at the Mississippi River in Quincy to Sheldon. This is a distance of 255.13 miles (410.59 km).
The Peoria and Pekin Union Railway is a switching and terminal railroad in Illinois that began operating in 1881 and was leased to the Tazewell and Peoria Railroad in 2004. Its main yard and roundhouse are in East Peoria, Illinois, and it owns track on both sides of the Illinois River. The company also owns a rail bridge over the river.
Interstate 74 (I-74) in the US state of Illinois is a major northwest–southeast Interstate Highway that runs across the central portion of the state. It runs from the Iowa state line at the Mississippi River near the city of Rock Island and runs southeast to the Indiana state line east of Danville, a distance of 220.34 miles (354.60 km). The highway runs through the major cities of Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria, and Moline.
The McClugage Bridge carries U.S. Route 150 over Upper Peoria Lake & Peoria Lake in the Illinois River in the US state of Illinois. The bridge's official name honors David H. McClugage, mayor of Peoria from 1937 to 1941. The crossing is actually composed of two bridges, one carrying westbound traffic and one carrying eastbound traffic.
The Shade–Lohmann Bridge is a pair of twin cantilever bridges that carry Interstate 474 (I-474) and U.S. Route 24 (US 24) over the Illinois River near the Peoria Lock and Dam located at River Mile 158.0 in Tazewell County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. It connects Bartonville and Creve Coeur. Built in 1973, the bridge was named after Pekin's former mayor and Illinois legislator J. Norman Shade, and Martin B. Lohmann, who served in the Illinois Legislature continuously from 1923 to 1953.
The history of Peoria, Illinois began when French explorers constructed Fort Crevecoeur in 1680. The County of Peoria was organized in 1825, the town in 1835, and Peoria was incorporated as a city in 1845. During the Industrial Revolution, coal mining, steamboat, and railroad businesses flourished in Peoria. Until Prohibition took effect in 1920, Peoria was known as the “Whiskey Capital of the World” and produced more rye whiskey than anywhere else in the world at the time. The "whiskey barons" contributed to the infrastructure of Peoria, building mansions, parks, churches, schools, and other historic buildings. Manufacturing has been a key industry in Peoria for over 150 years, including bicycles, automobiles, Caterpillar machines, washing machines, and barbed wire. During World War II, Peoria's USDA lab made strides in the commercial production of penicillin. Today Peoria is a mid-sized city supported by industries such manufacturing and healthcare, as well as small businesses and a growing arts and culture scene.
The Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad (CP&StL) was a railroad in the U.S. state of Illinois that operated a main line between Pekin and Madison via Springfield. Its property was sold at foreclosure to several new companies in the 1920s; the portion north of Springfield has since become the Illinois and Midland Railroad, while the remainder has been abandoned, except for a portion near St. Louis that is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Greater Peoria Mass Transit District is a mass transit district based in Peoria, Illinois; the district itself also includes Peoria Heights and West Peoria. It was established in 1970 and, prior to adopting the name CityLink, it was known as GPTransit. Regularly scheduled fixed route bus service is operated under the name CityLink, with the paratransit service being CityLift, and rural transportation service being CountyLink. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 1,750,100, or about 5,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.
The Columbia, sometimes called the Steamer Columbia, was a paddle steamer excursion boat on which 87 people died, on the Illinois River on July 5, 1918, across from Creve Coeur, between Peoria and Pekin, Illinois.
Illinois Route 9 - 4 lanes
