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Canal Street Bridge |
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| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date and Builder/Engineer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Canal Street Bridge
| Canal Street Over South Branch Chicago River | Chicago: Cook County, Illinois | Metal Rivet-Connected Pratt Pony Truss, Movable: Bascule (Fixed Trunnion) and Approach Spans: Metal Stringer (Multi-Beam), Fixed | 1949 By Builder/Contractor: Mount Vernon Bridge Company of Mount Vernon, Ohio and Engineer/Design: City of Chicago |
| Technical Facts |
| Main Span Length | Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | Approach Spans | NBI Number |
| 254 Feet (77.4 Meters) | 350 Feet (106.7 Meters) | 44 Feet (13.4 Meters) | 1 | 4 | 16600627338 |
This is Chicago's
longest-spanning pony truss
trunnion bascule bridge. It
is also one of the newer examples with a 1949 construction date. This bridge's
superstructure was built by the Mount Vernon Bridge Company of Mount Vernon,
Ohio. The Mount Vernon Bridge Company is of interest because it is one of a few
bridge companies that built pin connected truss bridges in the late 19th century
and did not go out of business or get bought out in the 20th century.
This bridge was painted white for many years but by 2010 had been repainted the maroon color that Chicago has switched to as its preferred bridge paint color.
At least two bridges preceded the existing bridge. In 1904, a rare and unusual folding jack-knife bridge was present at this location which provided an 89 foot span. By 1908, a Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge had replaced the folding bridge.
Photo Credit: Patrick Hynes
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Main Plaque S. CANAL ST. BRIDGEFOURTH AT THIS SITE --- 1949 --- CITY OF CHICAGO MARTIN H. KENNELLY Mayor OSCAR E. HEWITT Commissioner of Public Works JOHN P. WILSON Deputy Comm. of Public Works W. W. DE BERARD City Engineer STEPHEN J. MICHUDA City Bridge & Viad. Engineer
CARL O. JOHNSON Asst. Bridge Engineer (Constr.) CONTRACTORS Midwest Construction & Asphalt Co. The Mount Vernon Bridge Co. Simpson Construction Co. Divane Bros. Electric Co. |
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