Rating:
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CN - Michigan Avenue Bridge

Cook County, Illinois

Photos 

CN Michigan Avenue Bridge

Looking East

Photo taken by John Marvig in December 2018

Enlarge

BH Photo #441286

Map 

Description 

This bridge is the only one of the St. Charles Air Line bridges to have decorative elements. That is possibly due to the higher-class status of Michigan Avenue. The bents are particularly decorated and attractive.

Facts 

Overview
Pony/through plate girder bridge over Michigan Avenue on Canadian National Railway
Location
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
History
Built 1899; Replaced 2020-2021
Builder
- Detroit Bridge & Iron Works of Detroit, Michigan
Railroads
- Amtrak (AMTK)
- Canadian National Railway (CN)
- Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad (CWI)
- Illinois Central Railroad (IC; ICG (1972-1988))
- St. Charles Air Line Railroad
Design
Pony plate girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 55.0 ft.
Total length: 96.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.86085, -87.62407   (decimal degrees)
41°51'39" N, 87°37'27" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/448203/4634514 (zone/easting/northing)
Inventory number
BH 83944 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (9,027)
Amtrak (575)
Built 1899 (434)
Built during 1890s (3,278)
Canadian National Railway (576)
Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad (14)
Chicago, Illinois (332)
Cook County, Illinois (491)
Deck girder (6,398)
Detroit Bridge & Iron Works (76)
Girder (11,344)
Illinois (4,952)
 Illinois Central Railroad (629)
Lost (29,928)
Lost 2021 (112)
Lost during 2020s (308)
Owned by railroad (13,727)
Plate girder (8,875)
Railroad (16,665)
Replaced by new bridge (20,358)
Span length 50-75 feet (10,547)
St. Charles Air Line Railroad (11)
Through girder (4,268)
Total length 75-100 feet (6,936)

Update Log 

  • December 2, 2021: Updated by John Marvig: added builder
  • June 6, 2021: Updated by John Marvig: Replacement complete
  • April 13, 2019: Updated by Roger Deschner: New photos, Description
  • January 6, 2019: New photos from John Marvig
  • December 31, 2018: Added by John Marvig

Sources 

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Comments 

CN - Michigan Avenue Bridge
Posted April 13, 2019, by Roger Deschner (rogerdeschner [at] gmail [dot] com)

All of the 120 year old bridges of the St. Charles Air Line are scheduled for replacement in 2019, including this one. But this is the one that will be the most painful loss, due to its highly attractive decorative elements. It's also in relatively good condition, compared to the others, and could be fixed rather than replaced.