Kedzie Avenue Railroad Bridge

Located east of Kedzie Avenue, this large through truss swing bridge carries the former Chicago, Madison & Northern (later Illinois Central) over the Chicago Sanitatry & Ship Canal. During the late 19th Century, the City of Chicago was rapidly growing, and a solution was required to protect water supplies and create an effective wastewater disposal system. A large canal was designed, which would reverse the flow of the Chicago River and drain outwards from Chicago, ending in the Des Plaines River near Joliet. In addition to improving the wastewater system, the canal allowed larger ships to travel between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, via the Illinois River. A number of swing bridges would be required to carry railroads and roadways over the canal. At the CM&N crossing, the railroad would relocate southwest to save approximately 375 feet of bridge, due to the angle at which the canal crossed the railroad.

Construction began on the canal in the mid-1890s, and bridges were constructed during the late 1890s. This structure was constructed in 1899 by the Toledo Bridge Company, with MacArthur Brothers Company and Winson Brothers Company completing the substructures. The bridge consists of a double track 474-foot, 18-panel, pin-connected Pratt through truss swing span, set onto stone substructures. The bridge is comprised of two halves, each consisting of nine panels, joined over a center pier by a tower. Typical of trusses from this era, the bridge utilizes laced members, a plate girder floor and a lattice style portal. In addition, the endposts, top chords and lower chords of the structure are all laced. Thinner panels of the truss utilize a variant of the Baltimore design as part of the connection to the tower.

Upon completion of the bridge, this bridge was the largest swing span across the canal, due to the heavy angle the canal intersected the railroad. The structure uses 1,256 tons of steel and cost $110,644.85 to complete. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen relatively few alterations. A concrete encasement was added to the stonework to protect the substructures. Today, the bridge continues to serve Canadian National Railway, and a modest number of trains cross this bridge. It is unknown how often this bridge opens for canal traffic, but the structure appears to be capable of opening. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being highly significant, due to the size and historic nature of the swing span.