Clark Street Bridge

Most Recent Visit To Bridge: August 12, 2006

This bridge is similar to the nearby La Salle Street Bridge. It is somewhat similar to Franklin Street. However, this bridge shares the common trait with La Salle in that the tall ends of the bridge feature more round-shaped ends, particularly at the top of the trusses at those ends. Clark Street and La Salle Street bridges are also a bit taller, and are in my opinion the two most visually impressive of this general pony truss design in Chicago. The Grand Avenue Bridge is an example of an older bridge that utilizes this same design, but has a more clunky appearance. The Clark Street Bridge lacks the ornate railings of the Franklin Street and La Salle Street bridges however. To the best of my non-engineer knowledge, the unusual shape of these bridge comes from the fact that each leaf of this double-leaf bascule bridge is essentially cantilevered out from the abutments, meaning that the each end of the bridge is supporting its half of the bridge out to the center independently of the other half of the bridge.

The Clark Street Bridge was built in 1929. The contractors for the bridge are listed on the plaque, and include Fitzsimons and Connell Dredge and Dock Co., Ketler-Elliot Co., Norwood-Noonan Co., and M. J. Boyle and Co. The plaque does not specify which company built which part of the bridge, but it is likely that the Dredge and Dock Co built the substructure for the bridge. Bascule bridges commonly had separate substructure, superstructure, and electrical contractors.

Another plaque near the bridge reads "Project Completed 1931." I am not sure what project this was. Perhaps the bridge was not actually open to traffic until that date?