Located in the town of Pekin, this large truss bridge crosses Illinois Highway 29 at a large skew.
Built in 1913 as the railroad built through the area, the bridge consists of a single heavily skewed riveted Quadrangular Through Truss. This truss sits on concrete substructures.
While nationally the Quadrangular design is uncommon, it was popular with midwestern railroads, particularly the Chicago & North Western.
This truss is unique however. It is uncommon for a truss to cross a road. The design of the truss is also uncommon, considering the heavy skew. Because of this, there is a number of unique design features on the bridge, particularly in the portals.
Overall, the bridge is in poor condition. Much of the bottom of the bridge has serious section loss. However, much of the upper portions of the truss appear to still be in fair condition. It is hoped that the deteriorated components will be replaced, instead of a complete truss replacement.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the unique truss design.
The photo above is an overview.