|
Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
|
Lakeshore Drive Bridge |
Bascule (Truss) |
Lakeshore Drive / Outer Drive / US-41 |
Cook County, IL |
Chicago |
Chicago River |
|
Technical Facts |
|
Construction Date |
Structure Length | Roadway Width | Approach Spans | Navigational Vertical Clearance |
| 1937 | 356 Feet | 100 Feet | 3 Steel Stringers | 25 Feet |
This monstrous bridge is the perfect gateway to the city of Chicago for boats. This completion of this bridge was a product of depression relief programs. Although the bridge construction was started in 1929, the depression halted construction until federal aid got the bridge completed in 1937. When it was completed, this massive hulk of a bridge broke all sorts of records. It was the longest bascule bridge in the world, and was also the widest bascule bridge in the world! The lower deck of the bridge also added enough weight to enable each leaf of the bridge to claim the title of heaviest in the world as well! This is a bridge you owe to yourself to walk across on the lower level sidewalk. There are a ton of trusses making up this bridge... four evenly spaced rows of trusses make this the wide bridge it is. As you walk across the bridge, it feels like you are in a jungle of trusses under this bridge!
