Photo
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Looking Northeast, South Side Of Plate Girder Bridge Which Carried The Interurban Line Across The Fox River. Note The Steel-Frame Supports For The Catenary. Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
Facts
- Overview
- Abandoned deck plate girder bridge on Illinois Traction System in Ottawa
- Location
- Ottawa, La Salle County, Illinois
- Status
- Abandoned but awaiting plans to convert into a pedestrian trail
- Future prospects
- scheduled to be a part of a bike trail
- History
- Abandoned railroad bridge over the Fox River
- Design
- Deck plate girder
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +41.35234, -88.82818 (decimal degrees)
41°21'08" N, 88°49'41" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/347065/4579483 (zone/easting/northing)
- Inventory number
- BH 36912 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- March 29, 2009: Updated by Kim Harvey: added GPS coordinates from terraserver and updated status on the bridge
- November 24, 2008: Updated by Kim Harvey: added category
- July 23, 2008: Added by Kim Harvey
Sources
- Kim Harvey - ayrlieofremora [at] yahoo [dot] com
- HAER IL-82 - Illinois Traction System, Fox River Bridge, Spanning Fox River, Ottawa, La Salle County, IL
- Terraserver Picture (2008)
Comments
Those are not "Steel-Frame Supports For The Catenary", they are fairly new and have square lights on them. They are not even over the railroad portion of the bridge, they are over the aqueduct. The only thing left of the railroad bridge are the stone piers in the foreground.
This is actually part of the Illinois & Michigan canal aqueduct over the Fox River. The Illinois Traction System was abandoned in the 1930s, around the same time as the canal itself. The canal towpath and aqueduct are now part of a biking & hiking trail, and also used by snowmobiles. The I&M canal was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and a National Heritage Corridor in 1984. The aqueduct/rail bridge can be found on Champlain St. 2 blocks south of East Norris Dr. (U.S. Rt.6) on the east side of Ottawa. As of Dec.08 there is a large amount of debris piled against the north side, due to flooding in Sept. Directly east of this bridge is the remains of a wood and concrete foot bridge that was partially demolished in the late 1970s. There are also the remnants of several bridges along the route of the I.T.S. in LaSalle County.