Franklyn-Orleans Street Bridge - Chicago, Illinois, USA. - Moving Bridges on Waymarking.com

I walked past this old iron moving bridge, and it was open for maintenance, I was not able to see it closed.

"The last bridge to cross the Chicago River before it splits into the north and south branches, this bridge crosses the river at an angle, connecting Franklin and Orleans Streets, and lies in the shadow of the massive Merchandise Mart building which inescapably defines the visual setting around the bridge.

This trunnion bascule bridge, which features a pony truss superstructure was built in 1920. The contractor for the substructure of the bridge was the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company. The superstructure contractor was the Ketler-Elliott Company, although "Elliott" is actually spelled with only one "t" (Elliot) as is the case on a couple bridges. The original electrical equipment was installed by C.H. Norwood. The bridge is 62 feet wide, and has a 220 foot clear span with a 251.8 foot trunnion-to-trunnion span. There is 18.7 feet of navigational vertical clearance listed for the bridge." Text Source: (visit link)

"The Franklin–Orleans Street Bridge, commonly known as the Franklin Street Bridge, is a bascule bridge over the Chicago River, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was built in October 1920, and is located directly southwest of the Merchandise Mart. Connecting the Near North Side with "The Loop," is at the junction of the branches of the river, lying directly west of the Wells Street Bridge. It carries four lanes of traffic in the northbound direction, and sidewalks are available on both sides of the bridge.

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company was the contractor for the substructure, and the Ketler–Elliot Company was the contractor for the superstructure. Original electrical equipment was installed by C. H. Norwood. The bridge is an example of a trunnion bascule bridge, with each half of the roadway is cantilevered out from shore abutments. The bridge is extremely efficient to operate.

The bridge provided a new connection to the southern banks of the river and aided in westward expansion along Wacker Drive." Text Source: (visit link)

Bridge Type: Drawbridge (Bascule Bridge) Built: 10/19/1920 Span: 220 feet Pedestrian Traffic: yes Bicycle Traffic: yes Vehicular Traffic: yes Railway Traffic: no

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the bridge and record the exact coordinates where the picture was taken.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/05/2014 Go Boilers! visited it 08/10/2014 DoryXplorey visited it 05/08/2014 veritas vita visited it

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