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This bridge sits right next to a highway bridge and is abandoned, with the truss sitting in the raised position. Built in 1968, it is a late example of this technology, but appears to have excellent historic integrity including original bridge tender building.
This railroad bridge is a designated Chicago Landmark, while the highway bridge next to it is not. It is not apparent that the railroad bridge is more significant than the much older highway bridge. However, it is possible that the city designated the railroad bridge as a landmark because they feared the railroad owner might demolish it otherwise, where as with the city-owned highway bridge the city did not feel the need to protect the bridge.
The previous bridge at this location was an early Strauss trunnion bascule bridge. The structure was a single leaf through truss bascule built in 1910.
Despite being abandoned, this bridge appears to have a bright future, likely a benefit of the Chicago Landmark designation. The contract to rehabilitate the parallel Torrence Avenue bridge during 2011 - 2013 also included preservation work for this bridge as well. A visit in September 2011 showed this project had begun, with workers repairing the concrete counterweight. The work also will include cleaning and painting of the bridge. The bridge also served a couple unique purposes for the Torrence Avenue Bridge rehabilitation. The towers of the bridge were used as a means to access portions of the Torrence Avenue Bridge during rehabilitation. Additionally, the lift span deck was converted to allow vehicular traffic during the Torrence Avenue Bridge rehabilitation.
Information and Findings From Chicago Landmarks DesignationGeneral Information Address: North of 126th St., East of Torrence Ave. This Bridge Is A Designated Chicago Landmark |
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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