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    Chicago’s Bridges
    Chicago’s Bridges
    Chicago’s Bridges
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    Chicago’s Bridges

    By Nathan Holth

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    About this ebook

    The Chicago River divides America's Second City into the North and South Sides, and the bridges that span it are famous for their number and beauty. With the first constructed in 1832, it was only twelve years later that a moveable bridge appeared, and today Chicago is home to some sixty bridges in all, making it one of the most bridge-rich cities in the world. These bridges even today offer fascinating glimpses into Chicago's development from rough-and-tumble trading outpost to world-class city known for its architecture and culture, and this book traces the evolution of them all, from the original rising bascules to the splendidly designed twentieth-century structures that lend Chicago much of the grandeur for which it is known world-wide.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateJan 20, 2013
    ISBN9780747813163
    Chicago’s Bridges

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      Book preview

      Chicago’s Bridges - Nathan Holth

      BRIDGES THAT MOVE

      STAND JUST SOUTH OF THE Michigan Avenue Bridge on a hot summer day and look north toward the Magnificent Mile (Chicago’s Michigan Avenue) and watch countless cars, buses, and pedestrians stream across the bridge, while tour boats and water taxis packed with people pass under it. With all the activity, it may be easy not to notice that the Michigan Avenue Bridge, like dozens of bridges in Chicago, is something special. It is one of Chicago’s movable bridges.

      With movable bridges spanning the Calumet River and Chicago River systems in the city, it is often claimed that no other city in the world has more movable bridges than Chicago. As of 2012, well over sixty movable bridges remained in Chicago, although about half of them were no longer routinely opened for boats. Chicago was a leader in the development of movable bridges. New and improved designs originated in Chicago, and a number of Chicago’s bridges set records for size or weight when completed. Engineers in Chicago designed bridges built all over the world.

      Built in 1891, the Monadnock Building quickly became home to many of Chicago’s bridge engineers and contractors, including Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Company and Strobel Steel Construction Company. The building remains in use today.

      The majority of bridges in the world are fixed. Fixed bridges remain in the same position at all times, and as such, fixed bridges crossing navigable waters must provide enough clearance for boats moving underneath them. In contrast, movable bridges can open to allow tall boats to pass under the bridges. Movable bridges avoid the long ramps required for a fixed bridge that is tall enough for all boats.

      FIXED BRIDGES

      A brief discussion of fixed bridges helps set the stage for understanding movable bridges. In the simplest sense, a bridge is composed of a superstructure, a substructure, and a deck. The superstructure is the part of the bridge that does the actual job of spanning a feature, such as a river, road, or ravine. The substructure is the part of the bridge that holds the superstructure. Abutments are the substructure at each end of a bridge. Piers are any additional substructure supports located between the abutments. The deck is the surface upon which traffic travels.

      The Ashland Avenue Bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River displays its graceful pony truss superstructure.

      Chicago’s movable bridges have either a truss or a girder superstructure. Truss bridges are bridges whose superstructure is composed of triangular frameworks. Each framework is known as a truss line, which is positioned parallel to the roadway. Top chords and bottom chords run more or less horizontally at the extreme top and bottom of the truss. Between the chords are vertical and diagonal members. The exact arrangement of these members varies because engineers have devised a number of ways to configure them to make an efficient use of materials. Floor beams run between the truss lines under the roadway to hold the deck. Engineers categorize truss bridges based on the location of the truss lines in relation to the deck of a bridge.

      Bridges with truss lines completely below the bridge deck are deck trusses. Bridges with truss lines above the bridge deck are pony trusses. Some bridges have trusses that are above the deck like a pony truss, but are so tall that they need special overhead bracing beams that run between the truss lines to keep them stabilized. These bridges are called through trusses. In Chicago, some trusses combine the features of a deck and pony truss by extending both below and above the deck. The portion that extends above the deck serves a dual function as a guardrail, giving rise to the railing-height truss.

      Railing-height truss bridges such as the Wabash Avenue Bridge combine the concepts of a deck and pony truss bridge. Note how the truss extends slightly above the deck creating a guardrail between the sidewalks and roadway.

      In the most basic sense, girder bridges are similar to truss bridges, except that in place of a triangular framework, there is a large, solid beam called a girder. Bridges with girders located below the deck are deck girders, and bridges with girders located above the deck are through girders. A modern variation of the girder bridge has special girders that are not solid beams. Instead, four plates

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