Kinzie Street Bridge
Photos
General View Of Bridge, Looking South
Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record
View photos at Library of Congress
BH Photo #118252
Facts
- Overview
- Bascule bridge over North Branch Chicago River on Kinzie Street in Chicago
- Location
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1909; rehabilitated 1999
- Builder
- - Alexander von Babo
- Design
- Bascule Pratt through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 136.1 ft.
Total length: 194.8 ft.
Deck width: 36.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 11.5 ft.
- Recognition
- Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +41.88917, -87.63944 (decimal degrees)
41°53'21" N, 87°38'22" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/446950/4637668 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Chicago Loop
- Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
- 6,650
- Inventory numbers
- IL 016-6028 (Illinois bridge number)
BH 15141 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of September 2017)
- Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 54 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- January 21, 2016: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
- February 18, 2015: New Street View added by Luke
- October 30, 2014: New photo from Douglas Butler
- May 17, 2010: New photos from J.R. Manning
- April 17, 2010: New Street View added by James Baughn
Sources
- HAER IL-134 - Chicago River Bascule Bridge, Kinzie Street, Spanning North Branch Chicago River at Kinzie Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL
- J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
- Douglas Butler
- Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Luke
Comments
I believe it is still operable, though it is only rarely actually raised. The warning lights and closing gates appear to still be in good condition. If you needed it to be raised for a boat, you would likely need to make special arrangements, but it might still be possible.
The Kinzie Street bridge is one of the lowest to the water, so it still might need to be raised for a boat that could fit under the other bridges, including the higher Chicago Avenue Bridge which has been replaced by a fixed bridge.
It's adjacent to the CNW - Kinzie Street Bridge, which is stored in the raised position, and lowered once a year for maintenance by the UP RR.
All of the moveable bridges on the North Branch Chicago River are endangered by the loss of heavy industry along the waterway. It is becoming only a recreational waterway.
I'm not finding anything to suggest it still does.
Nathan Holth... This is a question you could likely answer.
Does this bridge still operate?
Hats off to google maps for putting street view on the river!Should do it everywhere!
Nice piece about this bridge this morning on WBEZ (NPR Chicago), focusing on the bridgetender's house, and its role in the Great Chicago Flood of 1992, which happened 25 years ago today. Audio story includes interesting history of the bridge, including its origin as a pathway between two taverns, the time a taxicab flew off it into the river while it was being lifted, and of course the Great Chicago Flood in 1992 which was caused by pilings driven to protect the bridge from errant barges. Some nice photos.
https://www.wbez.org/shows/morning-shift/whats-that-building...
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/il/cook/kinzie-street/
I found my answer. According to http://chicagoloopbridges.com/bridges12/NB16/NB-Bridges.html this bridge as well as grand ave, Ohio ave, Halsted st, and formerly Chicago ave are still kept operable