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This bridge is one of the oldest existing metal truss bridges among the collection of truss bridges on the Calumet Sag Channel and the Little Calumet River. It stands out for its aesthetically pleasing design which includes attractively arched sway and portal bracing. Also for a wide four lane truss bridge the end post and top chord has an amazingly lightweight appearance, an unusual appearance even further highlighted by the fact that the top chord and end post does not look much more massive than the truss members. However a closer look at the top chord and end post reveals that additional plate is riveted inside the box beam, which means that this beam is stronger than the average box beam, which is what allows for its deceptively lightweight appearance. This as well as the bracing design suggest a particular attention to aesthetics and appearance on this bridge. Unlike many of the truss bridges on the Calumet Sag Channel and the Little Calumet River this bridge also retains its original approach spans.
This bridge is slated to be rehabilitated according to a bid letting in November 2011. The bid tabulations reported a low bid of $1,980,990 for the project that includes deck repair, painting, repair of gusset plate connections, lighting repairs, joint repairs, and other miscellaneous repairs. Although some rivets will be replaced with bolts, reducing the historic integrity of the bridge slightly, it appears overall the bridge will retain good historic integrity and the repairs should go a long way to extend the life of this attractive and busy historic bridge.
Chicago and Cook County are home to one of the largest collections of historic bridges in the country, and no other city in the world has more movable bridges. HistoricBridges.org is proud to offer the most extensive coverage of historic Chicago bridges on the Internet.
General Chicago / Cook County Bridge Resources
Chicago's Bridges - By Nathan Holth, author of HistoricBridges.org, this book provides a discussion of the history of Chicago's movable bridges, and includes a virtual tour discussing all movable bridges remaining in Chicago today. Despite this broad coverage, the book is presented in a compact format that is easy to take with you and carry around for reference on a visit to Chicago. The book includes dozens of full color photos. Only $9.95 U.S! ($11.95 Canadian). Order Now Direct From The Publisher! or order on Amazon.
Chicago River Bridges - By Patrick T. McBriarty, this is a great companion to Holth's book shown above. This much larger book offers an extremely in-depth exploration of Chicago's movable highway bridges, including many crossings that have not existed for many years. Order Now Direct From The Publisher! or order on Amazon.
View Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Overview of Chicago Bascule Bridges (HAER Data Pages, PDF)
Chicago Loop Bridges - Chicago Loop Bridges is another website on the Internet that is a great companion to the HistoricBridges.org coverage of the 18 movable bridges within the Chicago Loop. This website includes additional information such as connections to popular culture, overview discussions and essays about Chicago's movable bridges, additional videos, and current news and events relating to the bridges.
Additional Online Articles and Resources - This page is a large gathering of interesting articles and resources that HistoricBridges.org has uncovered during research, but which were not specific to a particular bridge listing.
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Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.
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