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IHB - 5th Avenue Overpass

Lake County, Indiana

Photos 

IHB 5th Ave Wide

Wider shot of the bridge.

Photo taken by Korry Shepard

Enlarge

BH Photo #428924

Map 

Description 

Bridges were completed June through August of 1907 by Chicago, Indiana and Southern Railroad and Chicago Lake Shore & Eastern Railway (EJ&E) on behalf of New York Central/Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. Alco passing siding sat on top. Property of Gary & Western Railroad (non-operating entity) until 1914 when New York Central consolidated it into its system. Indiana Harbor Belt operated almost exclusively on this line, which was at a time half owned by Milwaukee Road. Milwaukee Road stored grain on Alco passing siding to serve grain distributors in the Gary area. The "City Track" has a spur that serviced Walter Bates Steel across 5th Avenue.

Video exploration (spring 2018) https://youtu.be/onut0R--xW4?t=21m29s

Facts 

Overview
Abandoned pony/through plate girder bridge over U.S. Route 12 on Us 12 Eb
Location
Gary, Lake County, Indiana
Status
Derelict/abandoned
History
Built August 1907 by Chicago, Indiana and Southern Railroad and Chicago Lake Shore & Eastern Railway (EJ&E) on behalf of New York Central/Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. Alco passing siding sat on top. Property of Gary & Western Railroad until 1914.
Railroads
- Chicago, Indiana & Southern Railroad (CI&S)
- Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (MILW)
- Chicago, South Shore, & South Bend Railroad (CSS)
- Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJE)
- Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (IHB)
- Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad (LS&MS)
- New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (NYC&HR)
Design
This bridge has three spans. The bridge over 5th Avenue has a unique double girder, the outer most with New York Central branding still visible on the eastern side. The second span, being a pony plate girder, crosses over the CSS/NICTD main line. The final span crosses the ex-EJ&E/CN City Track and is a pony/through plate girder.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 117.0 ft.
Total length: 329.0 ft.
Deck width: 30.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 30.0 ft.
Also called
Gary & Western over 5th Avenue
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.59974, -87.31387   (decimal degrees)
41°35'59" N, 87°18'50" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/473843/4605384 (zone/easting/northing)
Elevation
625 ft. above sea level
Inventory numbers
INNBI 003200 (Indiana bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 81709 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Abandoned (3,682)
Built 1907 (701)
Built during 1900s (7,252)
Chicago, Indiana & Southern Railroad (10)
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (1,041)
Chicago, South Shore, & South Bend Railroad (16)
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (43)
Gary, Indiana (6)
Girder (10,296)
Grade Separated Rail Crossing (387)
Indiana (4,932)
 Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (18)
Lake County, Indiana (84)
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad (59)
New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (10)
Owned by railroad (12,497)
Plate girder (7,980)
Railroad (15,600)
Span length 100-125 feet (4,408)
Through girder (3,841)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,256)

Update Log 

  • July 6, 2018: New photo from Korry Shepard
  • May 29, 2018: Added by Korry Shepard

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