Allerton Park, located in Monticello, Ill., was previously the private estate of Robert Henry Allerton. In 1946 Allerton Park was given as a gift to the University of Illinois by Robert Allerton as “an educational and research center, as a forest and wildlife and plant-life reserve, as an example of landscape architecture, and as a public park”. Today, the park is used for various purposes, such as business meetings, hiking, and weddings.

Allerton Park is 4.7 miles away from downtown Monticello and has three entrances to it. One of these entrances is a North Entrance that leads from Old Timber Road. Allerton Park wishes to construct a pedestrian pathway which runs alongside Old Timber Road, connecting the Visitor Centre of the park to County Farm Road, which is connected to downtown Monticello. However, a quarter mile north from the visitors center the path is obstructed by a creek, which is difficult to cross. Allerton Park needs a solution that would help connect the two ends of this path over the creek. They wish to construct a bike path that would connect all three entrances of the Park and be a form of transportation within the park. Allerton Park wishes to draw visitors towards the park via a safe and sustainable transportation method and to promote a positive relationship between users and the natural environment. Also, this bridge project will assist the student organization, Bridge to China, to build sustainable bridges in future bridge projects in China.