Placed along the Carl "Bud" Schmitt River Trail of Illinois, a converted rail path that runs along the former Illinois Terminal Railroad Co. through East Peoria to Morton. Cache location is available to bikers on the trail or via a modest walk from nearby parking.
Passing above you is Interstate 74, which stretches 492 miles from I-80 in Davenport, IA to I-75 in Cincinnati, OH. Murray Baker Bridge, named after the businessman who lured Holt Caterpillar Company to East Peoria and R.G. LeTourneau Company to Peoria, was completed in December 1958 as the first portion of I-74 open to traffic. Additional sections of the road were opened over the next 14 years, with cross-state completion in 1971. During construction of the roadway in Peoria, 1.6 million cubic yards of dirt were removed from Fondulac Hill while 300 homes, 20 apartment buildings and 70 businesses were demolished to make way for the freeway.
The "Upgrade 74" project between October 2002 and December 2006 rebuilt the freeway to modern standards. The $490-million project expanded I-74 to six and eight lanes, improved all Peoria interchanges, and rebuilt the approaches to the Murray Baker Bridge.
Thanks to the Fondulac Park District for permission to place the cache.