The first verified bridge  in this area was built in 1879 and was a fixed iron bridge.  The next bridge was built in 1909 and was a through truss center pier swing bridge.   The current bridge was built in 1970.  During construction, a temporary bridge was in place to allow for traffic flow in this location.    The  current bridge  is a riveted through plate girder.  This is a fixed bridge.  The main span length is 148.6 feet.  The structure length is 350 feet.   Roadway width is 48 feet.  There are four main spans.

Inspection report as of 10/2011 rates the deck as 3 out of 9 -serious; superstructure 5 out of 9–fair.  Substructure is rated 5 out of 9–fair.   Overall appraisal is structurally deficient.

 

 

The current bridge over the Sanitary and Ship Canal has an interesting history.  It was built in 1940. It replaced a swing bridge built in 1900.    Bridge substructure contractor was M.J. McDermott and Company.  Superstructure contractor was Strobel Construction  Company.  It was a fixed plate girder bridge.  It was a ten lane bridge.   It offered a 21 foot clearance.

The clearance of the bridge was inadequate for the passage of newly constructed World War II naval ships from Great Lakes Shipyards to the Gulf of Mexico.  In 1942, the city of Chicago signed an agreement with the Naval Department.  The city agreed to convert the bridge from its current configuration to one of the largest vertical lift bridges at the time.  In a few short months, towers were added along with the machinery necessary to operate the bridge.  The bridge was operational April 5, 1943.   One interesting fact was that traffic on the bridge was not seriously affected during the conversion project.

 

Some time after the 1972 photo was taken the lift towers were removed and the bridge became a fixed one.

The bridge is metal through girder.  It is 295 feet in length.  The road way is 107 feet in width.  Length of maximum spam is 108.9 ft.   The deck width is 145.3 ft.  There are bilateral side walks measuring 9.5 feet.    It consists of one main span and two approach spans.   Vertical clearance is 22.0 feet.

Bridge inspection report as of 10/2011:  Deck condition rating  6 out of  9 Satisfactory. Superstructure rating 5 out of 9 Fair.    Substructure rating 5 out of 9  fair.

 

 

There have been multiple bridges over this site on the south branch of the Chicago River.  The first documented  bridge was a swing type.  It was built by the Detroit Bridge Company in 1883.  It was 160 feet in length and 20.5 feet in width.    The next bridge was built in 1902 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company.  This was a rare Page type bascule bridge.  This was replaced by the existing bridge in 1938.   During the replacement project, a temporary bobtail swing bridge was erected adjacent to the construction site.   This was constructed by the Overland Construction Company.   This was done to keep the area open to traffic.

The current bridge was constructed in 1938.  The superstructure contractor was was Ketler–Elliot Company.   Substructure contractor was Fitz Simmons and Connell Dredge and Dock Company.  Depression Age funding was used for the project.   The description of the bridge is  a very wide pony truss bascule bridge.   There are three pony truss lines to carry the wide bridge.

The bridge is still  operational. The main span length is 225 feet.  The total structure length is 312 feet.   The road width is 57 feet.   There is one main span and four approach spans.

Bridge appraisal as of 10/2011:  Deck Condition 7 out of 9   Good;  Superstructure 6 out 9  Fair; Substructure 5 out of 9  Fair

This is a highway bridge between Cal Sag Junction and Willow Springs Road Bridge.   This is a truss bridge over the canal.  It was built in 1934 and rehabilitated in 1997.  It is 1,129.6 feet in length and 43.9 feet in width.

 

This is a swing bridge over the Sanitary and Ship Canal.  It is located between the south Central Avenue Bridge and the Harlem Avenue Bridge.  It was built in 1899.  It is a pin connected Pratt through truss fabricated by the the Keystone Bridge Company.  The Carnegie Steel Company erected the superstructure.

It is a center pivot swing bridge.  It measures 372 feet 6 inches in length. It rests on limestone abutments.  The limestone center pier measures 33 feet 8 inches in diameter.  It supports  a 28 foot turntable.  The bridge has two tracks.  It is still operational.

This is a railroad bridge over the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.  It is located near Bedford Park Cook County, Il.  It is located between the LaGrange Rd and the Archer Avenue traffic bridges.   Railroads using this bridge include the Indiana Harbor Belt Line and the Soo Line.    This was originally a swing bridge.  Date of construction is unknown.  The span between the center pier and the north bank collapsed in  1963.  This was replaced by by a set of short deck girder bridges.   The remaining section between the center pier and the south bank was left in place.    Subsequently this was replaced with  a truss bridge.  This is a double track bridge.  Total length of the bridge is 340 feet.

 

This is a swing bridge between Kedzie Avenue and Pulaski Road.   Date of construction is estimated to be about 1897.  The substructure contractors were the Mc Arthur Brothers and Winston and Company.  Carnegie Steel Company was the superstructure contractor.  Estimated cost of the bridge was $64,961.97.  Estimated weight of the structure was 1,519, 183 pounds.

This is a singe span bridge.  It has two tracks.   Its length  is 322.7 feet.  The total structure length is 327.7 feet.  The bridge rests on limestone abutments on the ebankments.  Center pier is concrete and limestone. The bridge rotated on the center pier. It is currently fixed and locked in position.

The bridge originally was built for short line Illinois Northern Railroad (part of the Santa Fe System).  It is currently used by the Illinois Central.

This lock is located between the waters of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.   It was part of the project to reverse the course of the River.    This was built by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.  It was built between 1936 and 1938.  It was originally built to prevent contamination of Lake Michigan water by the polluted water of the Chicago River.  Currently it separates Chicago River Storm water from the Lake.   It also regulates the amount of Lake water entering the River.  In 1984, the operation and maintenance of the lock was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers.

The lock is 600 feet long and 80 feet wide.  It is 22 feet deep.  Filling and emptying the lock occurs through a partially opened gate.  The lock maintains a 2 to 5 foot water height differential between the Lake and the River.

The control house was replaced in 2007.  The lock gates were renovated in 2011.  The lock is operated 24 hours a day.

This is a swing  bridge over the Sanitary and Ship Canal. It is the longest on the  ship canal.  It is located between Kedzie Avenue and California Avenue in Cicero, Illinois.   It is also known as the Illinois Central Swing Bridge # 2.  It was built in  1899.  Its design is Pratt through truss.   The sub structure contractors were the McArthur Brothers and Winston and Company.  The superstructure contractor was the Toledo Bridge Company.  It’s cost was $110,644.  The completed bridge was 2,511,140 pounds. It rested on a central pier.  The bridge pivoted on this pier to create navigable channels on either side.

Its length is 479 feet.   Railroads having used the bridge include CN, Chicago Madison and Northern RR., and the Illinois Central Railroad.

The 18th street railroad bridge is actually 2 bridges.  One is called the Saint Charles Air Line Bridge.    This is currently owned by the CN railroad.  It is the southern most of the two bridges.  It was originally 260 feet in length.  It was  built in 1919.  It was designed to be modified when the Chicago River straightening project was completed.

The bridge was was designed by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company.  It was fabricated by the American Bridge Company.  It was a double track structure.  It was assembled in its original location by the Ferro Construction Company.    The original substructure was built by the Foundation Company of New York.

When the river straightening project was completed, the bridge was moved and shortened in 1930.  E.J. Albrecht Company built the relocation substructure.  The Stroebel Steel Construction Company dismantled and and re-erected the superstructure in its location.  The bridge was shortened to 220 feet.  This  bridge  is still operational.

The adjacent bridge was commissioned  by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.   It was constructed by the American Bridge Company.    It contained two tracks.  It is a single leaf Strauss trunnion bascule bridge.  It measures 186 feet in length.  Its supports are concrete.