I&M Canal

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The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 and it allowed boat transportation from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The canal enabled navigation across the Chicago Portage and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, opening before railroads were laid in the area. Its function was largely replaced by the wider and shorter Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900 and it ceased transportation operations in 1933.

Illinois and Michigan Canal Locks and Towpath, a collection of eight engineering structures and segments of the canal between Lockport and LaSalle-Peru, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964

CBQ I&M Canal Ghost Bridge (La Salle County, Illinois)
Lost Bridge over I & M Canal on Abandoned CB&Q RR
Lost

CSX Railroad Spur I&M Canal Bridge (Will County, Illinois)
Original canal bridge possibly pre-1900
Old Railroad Swing bridge over I&M Canal on CSX RR Industial Spur
Seldom Used

CSX Railroad Spur I&M Canal Bridge (Will County, Illinois)
Timber stringer bridge over I&M Canal on CSX RR Industial Spur


Division Street Bridge (Will County, Illinois)
Steel stringer bridge over I&M Canal on Division St in Lockport
Open to traffic

EJ&E I&M Canal Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Built 1910
Pony/through plate girder bridge over I&M Canal on EJ&E RR (now CNRR)
Open to traffic

EJ&E Railroad I&M Canal Bridge (Will County, Illinois)
Pony/through girder bridge over I&M Canal on EJ&E RR
Open to traffic

I & M Canal "Old" Five Mile Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Lost Pony truss bridge over I & M Canal on former alignment of Old Stage Rd
All that remains are the abutments and footings

I & M Canal Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Bedstead Pratt pony truss bridge over I and M Canal on an access to the I and M Canal Trail
Open to pedestrians

I & M Canal Fox River Aqueduct (La Salle County, Illinois)
I&M Canal Aqueduct/Illinois Traction System over the Fox River
I&M Canal aqueduct/IL Traction System spaning the Fox River
Open to Foot & Bike Traffic. Aqueduct is dry.

I & M Canal Little Vermillion Aqueduct (La Salle County, Illinois)
Aqueduct over Little Vermillion River on I&M Canal
Open to foot, bike and canoe traffic

I & M Canal Price Street Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Built 1971
Steel stringer bridge over I&M Canal on Price Street
Open to traffic, closed in winter

I & M Canal Swing Bridge (La Salle County, Illinois)
Swing Bridge built in 1887 to move rail cars across I&M Canal
Pony Plate Girder Swing bridge over I&M Canal on abandoned railroad in Marseilles
Derelict/abandoned

I & M Canal Trail Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Abandoned road bridge, now used for foot & bike trail.
Pratt pony truss bridge over Canal on the I & M Canal Trail
Open to pedestrians

I & M Canal Utica Rail Bridge (La Salle County, Illinois)
Double-intersection Warren pony truss bridge over I & M Canal on an old railroad
Intact but closed to all traffic

I&M Canal "Five Mile" Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Built 1995
All Wood Closed-spandrel arch bridge over I&M Canal on Old Stage Rd
Open to traffic

I&M Canal Aux Sable Aqueduct (Grundy County, Illinois)
Built in 1847, Rebuilt in 1927
Bridge over Aux Sable Creek on I&M Canal
Open to foot, bike and canoe traffic

I&M Canal Nettle Creek Aqueduct (Grundy County, Illinois)
Built in 1847 Rebuilt a few times. Current looks like CCC work
Bridge over Nettle Creek on I&M Canal
Destroyed by flooding

Morris Spur I&M Canal Bridge (Grundy County, Illinois)
Triple Intersecting Warren Through Truss over Illinois and Michgan Canal on the I&M Canal Trail (former Rock Island Railroad)
Open to Pedestrians

Santa Fe Bridge (Will County, Illinois)
Built 1935
Warren through truss bridge over I&M Canal on BNSF RR in Joliet
Open

Terry Drive Bridge (Will County, Illinois)
Steel stringer bridge over I&M Canal on Terry Drive
Open to traffic