|
Canal Street Railroad BridgePennsylvania Railroad Bridge 458 |
|
| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date and Builder/Engineer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Canal Street Railroad Bridge
Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge 458 | Railroad (Amtrak, Metra) Over South Branch Chicago River | Chicago: Cook County, Illinois | Metal 10 Panel Rivet-Connected Parker Through Truss, Movable: Vertical Lift | 1915 By Builder/Contractor: Pennsylvania Steel Company of Steelton, Pennsylvania and Engineer/Design: Waddell and Harrington |
| Technical Facts |
| Main Span Length | Structure Length | Main Spans | Approach Spans |
| 272.8 Feet (83.1 Meters) | 272.8 Feet (83.1 Meters) | 1 | 2 |
HAER Data Pages, PDF
This impressive vertical lift bridge was completed in 1915,
and at the time had the heaviest lift span in the country, according to the
Historic American Engineering Record documentation. The bridge serves a variety
of trains including Metra, Amtrak, and Norfolk Southern. The bridge was
originally owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The bridge is a vertical lift
bridge built by Waddell and Harrington, an innovative and noteworthy engineering
company associated with famous bridge engineer John Alexander Low Waddell. The bridge
is the only such example on the Chicago River. As the only vertical lift bridge
near the downtown area, it is not only historically significant, it is further
imperative to preserve since it helps enrich a Chicago tour, by ensuring that
all of the most common movable bridge types are around in the Chicago area for
people to investigate.
The bridge provides a 130 foot clearance in the raised position. The towers are 195 feet in height. The bridge has a significant 47 degree skew. The machinery house is located on top of the truss in the center, while the bridgetender building is located directly underneath the machinery house. This bridgetender building is no longer used, and a brick structure on the ground near the bridge is the current bridgetender building.
The bridge replaced a swing bridge structure. Like many railroad bridge replacement projects, railroad traffic continued to flow over the swing bridge while the replacement bridge was being built. The lift truss span was constructed outward from the towers with the use of special falsework that angled back into the tower so that it would not be in the river obstructing boats. The bridge was also designed so that the railroad grade could be raised by up to 25 feet in the future if needed, which was one of the reasons why the vertical lift bridge type was selected, since it was found this bridge type could accommodate such a change. As built, the bridge contained 6,941,000 pounds of structural steel and machinery. An interesting design feature of the bridge was that the northern piers of the bridge were built overly wide, so that half of these piers could support half of a second vertical lift bridge, should the railroad have wished to add more trackage to the line. The diagram to the left shows how this second bridge would have been configured. As seen today, this second bridge was never built.
Information and Findings From Chicago Landmarks DesignationGeneral Information Address: South of 19th St., East of Lumber St.
(South Branch of the Chicago River) This Bridge Is A Designated Chicago Landmark |
 |
Historic Bridges of Chicago and Cook CountyBrowse Bridges In Google MapsThis 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 NewsMay-June 2012 - Click here to view the Spring 2012 Bridge Lift Schedule. The lift season is shorter this spring due to work on the Chicago Lock, but lifts will also be more frequent.
General Chicago / Cook County Bridge ResourcesView Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Overview of Chicago Bascule Bridges (HAER Data Pages, PDF)
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.
© Copyright 2003-2012, HistoricBridges.org. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer: HistoricBridges.org is a volunteer group of private citizens. HistoricBridges.org is NOT a government agency, does not represent or work with any governmental agencies, nor is it in any way associated with any government agency or any non-profit organization. While we strive for accuracy in our factual content, HistoricBridges.org offers no guarantee of accuracy. Information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Information could include technical inaccuracies or errors of omission. Opinions and commentary are the opinions of the respective HistoricBridges.org member who made them and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone else, including any outside photographers whose images may appear on the page in which the commentary appears. HistoricBridges.org does not bear any responsibility for any consequences resulting from the use of this or any other HistoricBridges.org information. Owners of bridges have the responsibility of correctly following all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, regardless of any HistoricBridges.org information.