A Short Trip South of Chicago's Loop

 

 

Looking NE from the deck of the W. Cermak Rd. Bridge, you see the S. Canal St. fixed trunnion bascule (foreground) and the vertical towers of the vertical lift railroad bridge (background).

 

If you are interested in seeing some additional examples of movable bridges in Chicago, you can find them a short distance away near Chicago's Chinatown. What you can see is a 1915 vertical lift railroad bridge (now owned by Amtrak) near the Ping Tom Memorial Park; a 1949 fixed trunnion bascule near 2100 S. Canal St. (both in the photo above); and a 1906 (rebuilt in 1997) Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge near 300 W. Cermak Rd (photo below). These bridges are operational during the Spring and Fall bridge lift seasons. The railroad bridge is remotely operated on-demand because of its low clearance.

 

 

Looking SW from the deck of the S. Canal St. Bridge you see the W. Cermak Rd. Bridge.

 

You can reach these bridges from the Loop by taking the Red Line south to the Cermak/Chinatown stop. From the Red Line station you can either walk west for about half a mile on W. Cermak Rd. or take the Number 21 bus west to the S. Canal - W. Cermak intersection. All three of these bridges can be seen from this intersection (CTA Trip Planner).

 

 

An alternative approach to CTA during the summer season is to take the Chicago Water Taxi to Chinatown (Ping Tom Memorial Park). From there you can make your way to W. Cermak Rd. and continue west to the S. Canal - W. Cermak intersection (approx. 0.6 miles).

 

 

Photographs and videos of the bridges and surrounding area provided below.

 

W. Cermak Rd. - Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge

 

The mechanism and machinery used to operate the fixed trunnion bascule bridges in Chicago are all below the roadway. The rolling lift bridge has its operating equipment above the roadway.

 

 

 

Western entry to W. Cermak Rd. Bridge - Equipment room spans roadway, counterweights at truss ends above roadway.

 

This bascule bridge operates by rolling back on the river bank rather than rotating about a fixed pivot point.

 

 

The rocker of the W. Cermak Rd. bridge - end view shows "track" detail; side view shows relative size.  

 

Video of W. Cermak Rd. Bridge in Action

 

This video was taken near the "track" shown in the photo above. As the bridge is raised, the leaf rolls toward the camera. In the last portion of the video, the superstructure of the bridge comes into view. The audio portion consists primarily of the warning bells signaling a bridge lift.

 

(YouTube link)

 

 

For additional information on the Cermak bridge see Historicbridges.org.

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Amtrak Vertical Lift Bridge

The Amtrak bridge east of Canal St. is a vertical lift bridge built in 1915. It operates similar to an elevator, with the center span raised as the counterweights move down the vertical towers.

 

 

Looking at the Amtrak vertical lift bridge from the S. Canal St. bridge deck.

 

Video of the Vertical Lift Bridge in Action

 

This video was taken from the deck of the S. Canal St. bridge. The initial warning siren heard on the audio portion is coming from the moving bridge. All other audio (and vibration in the video) is due to the traffic crossing the S. Canal St. bridge, not from the raising railroad bridge, which is surprisingly quiet in action.

 

(YouTube link)

 

 

For additional information on the Amtrak vertical lift bridge see Historicbridges.org  

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S. Canal St. Bridge

 

This fixed trunnion bascule bridge was opened in 1948. It has pony trusses like many of the Loop bridges and its bridgehouses are similar to those seen at the N. State St. bridge.

 

 

Looking south along the S. Canal St. bridge deck.

 For additional information about the S. Canal St. bridge see Historicbridges.org.

 

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