Abandoned Wood Street Bridge (New City)

Located at the intersection of 49th Street and Wood Street in the New City neighborhood of Chicago, this through girder bridge carries the abandoned Grand Trunk Western Railroad over Wood Street. In the late 19th Century, the numerous grade crossings throughout the City of Chicago posed a serious hazard to the general public. By the late 1890s, the railroads began to work with the city to elevate segments of track through the city, placing subways at street crossings. An ordinance was passed on February 3, 1902 requiring the elevation of the GTW and parallel Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (IHB) between Halsted Street and Western Avenue. Much of the work was completed between 1906 and 1907. Typical of 20th Century track elevations, the retaining walls are constructed of concrete, and the bridges utilize girder spans with ballast decks.

The bridge at Wood Street consists of a three span through plate girder bridge, with a 44-foot main span and an 11-foot span on either side. The bridge is set onto concrete abutments, and utilizes steel bents, typical of 20th Century track elevation structures. The crossing was originally constructed for four tracks, with the IHB operating the northern two tracks, and the GTW operating the southern tracks. American Bridge Company fabricated the superstructure, and an unknown contractor completed the substructure. The girder spans utilize a ballast deck, which is supported on a floor consisting of parallel floorbeams. These girder spans utilize a rounded end and heavy construction. In addition, the steel bents utilize a decorative rounded piece at the columns. Through girder spans were often used for early track elevation projects in Chicago, as they were durable, easy to construct and relatively cheap. By the 1910s, these spans fell out of favor for beam and slab spans. The northern two (IHB) tracks were removed in the 1970s, and the bridge has been abandoned since the 2000s. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.