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Monroe Street Bridge

   

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Bridge Documented: August 12, 2006, 2009, and 2010

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

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Key Facts

	Bridge Name	Facility Carried / Feature Intersected	Location	Structure Type	Construction Date and Builder/Engineer
	Monroe Street Bridge	Monroe 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	1919 By Builder/Contractor: Ketler-Elliott Company of Chicago, Illinois and Engineer/Design: City of Chicago

Technical Facts

Rehabilitation Date	Main Span Length	Structure Length	Roadway Width	Main Spans	Approach Spans	NBI Number
2001	193 Feet (58.8 Meters)	271 Feet (82.6 Meters)	36 Feet (11 Meters)	1	3	16603626643

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

View Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Documentation For This Bridge

HAER Data Pages, PDF

 

This bridge was the first Chicago bascule bridge to have a smoothly-curved pony truss design for a movable bridge, and was the generation of trunnion bascule bridges that succeeded the somewhat clunky looking bridge design seen on bridges such as Grand Avenue. The Monroe Street Bridge however still has the clunky looking detail at the ends of the trusses like the Grand Avenue type bascules. Later examples of this bridge design would have a more aesthetically pleasing curved detail at the ends in addition to the smoothly curved detail in the center. The Franklin Street Bridge is one such later example.

The bridge's operating and control panels inside the bridgetender buildings were reportedly the first in the United States to have completely enclosed circuitry so that no exposed copper connections were available for bridgetenders to mistakenly electrocute themselves on.

The navigational vertical clearance of the bridge is 18.7 Feet. The clear span of the bridge is 165.5 feet, while the trunnion-to-trunnion length is 193 feet. The bridge is 60 feet wide.

The Monroe Street Bridge is unique because the engineers had to do some very special technical and mechanical design to get this bridge to fit near to Union Station which was under construction at the time and takes up substantial space below the roadway level of Monroe Street. To ensure that room remained for the Union Station underground facilities, the counterweight, which is under the road on this type of bridge, was changed at one end only. At the west end, engineers used a smaller counterweight using heavier cast iron instead of concrete. The east end however had the standard concrete sized counterweight. There is a more technical description of this available in the HAER entry for this bridge.

On the western end of the bridge, where the smaller counterweight is used, steel blocks used to help counterweight the bridge actually extend above the deck level and are attached to the ends of the trusses. Some of these blocks may be later additions, but a historical photo of the bridge from 1919 does appear to show some counterweight blocks on this end of the bridge. This is likely further indication of the limited space below the roadway and a creative method the city designed to add weight to this end of the bridge. Sometimes over the course of a bascule bridge's history, counterweights would need to be made heavier or lighter, usually in response to changes made to the deck design. On this bridge, the blocks that rest on the west end of the bridge on top of the top chord, do not appear in the 1919 photo and thus appear to be an example of weights added to the bridge at a later date.

The 1919 photo, shown to the right, also shows unusual concrete pillars at the end of the bridge. These appear to have been decorative, but also appear to have contained a "Stop" signal to alert drivers when the bridge was being raised. The arched overhead beams seen in the photo are for holding the cables for the street cars that once were found on numerous Chicago streets. Many of Chicago's movable bridges originally had these arched overhead beams, but all have been removed today.

Main Plaque WILLIAM HALE THOMPSON MAYOR CHARLES R. FRANCIS COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS WILLIAM BURKHARDT DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS JOHN ERICSON CITY ENGINEER THOS. G. PIHLFELDT ENGINEER OF BRIDGES HUGH E. YOUNG ENGINEER OF BRIDGE DESIGN CLARENCE S. ROWE ENGINEER OF CONSTRUCTION BUILT BY CHICAGO UNION STATION CO. CHICAGO PLAN COMMISSION ILL. CHAP. AMER. INST. ARCHT'S SUBSTRUCTURE FITZSIMONS & CONNELL D. & D. CO. SUPERSTRUCTURE THE KETLER-ELLIOTT ERECTION CO. THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT INSTALLED BY C. H. NORWOOD 1919

Rehabilitation Plaque MONROE STREET BRIDGE - 2008 - CITY OF CHICAGO RICHARD M. DALEY MAYOR DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION THOMAS G. BYRNE COMMISSIONER THOMAS H. POWERS, P.E. FIRST DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIVISION OF ENGINEERING JOHN YONAN, P.E. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DANIEL BURKE, S.E., P.E. CHIEF BRIDGE ENGINEER THOMAS P. AMBRY, AIA PROJECT DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER A. KENT, P.E. CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER FREDDY R. FLORES PROJECT MANAGER CHUCK SHUM RESIDENT ENGINEER

Historic Bridges of Chicago and Cook County Browse Bridges In Google Maps This special map has bridge markers colored by bridge movable type. Complete Bridge List

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.

Chicago / Cook County Bridge News

May 15, 2013 - The Ashland Avenue Bridge over North Branch Chicago River has been recommended for Chicago Landmark designation by the Chicago Art Deco Society.

April 30, 2013 - Illinois Landmarks has included Chicago's Bascule Bridges as one of their Top 10 Most Endangered Historic Places. View The Official Page.

April, 2013 - The replacement of the outer trusses of the northern Wells Street Bridge bascule leaf is underway. The outer trusses of the southern bascule leaf has already been completed.

April 2013 - Spring Bridge Lifts Are Ongoing! The bridge lift schedule is available here.

Washington Boulevard Bridge - This bridge celebrates its 100th Anniversary on May 26, 1913! Click Here To View A Commemoration Article By ChicagoLoopBridges.com! (Alternate PDF Format)

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. The book includes dozens of full color photos. Only $9.95 U.S! ($11.95 Canadian). Order Now Direct From The Publisher!

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.

Photos and Videos: Monroe Street Bridge

Available Photo Galleries and Videos

Click on a thumbnail or gallery name below to visit that particular photo gallery. If videos are available, click on a video name to view and/or download that particular video.

 

	Structure Overview Original / Full Size Photos	A collection of overview photos that show the bridge as a whole and general areas of the bridge. For the best visual immersion and full detail, or for use as a desktop background, this gallery presents the photos for this bridge in the original digital camera resolution.
	Structure Details Original / Full Size Photos	A collection of detail photos that document the parts, construction, and condition of the bridge. For the best visual immersion and full detail, or for use as a desktop background, this gallery presents the photos for this bridge in the original digital camera resolution.
	Structure Overview Mobile Optimized Gallery	A collection of overview photos that show the bridge as a whole and general areas of the bridge. View the photos for this bridge in a reduced size which is useful for mobile/smartphone users, modem (dial-up) users, or those who do not wish to wait for the longer download times of the full-size photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer (great for mobile users) by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer
	Structure Details Mobile Optimized Gallery	A collection of detail photos that document the parts, construction, and condition of the bridge. View the photos for this bridge in a reduced size which is useful for mobile/smartphone users, modem (dial-up) users, or those who do not wish to wait for the longer download times of the full-size photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer (great for mobile users) by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer
	Raising Bridge, Elevation Full Motion Video	Taken June 2011. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.
	Raising Bridge, Portal View Full Motion Video	Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 1080 HD detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.
	Lowering Bridge, Portal View Full Motion Video	Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 1080 HD detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.

View and Link To Maps

 

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