St. Charles Air Line Bridge
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (May 2026) |
St. Charles Air Line Bridge | |
|---|---|
 St. Charles Air Line Bridge with an upright B&OCT Bascule Bridge just behind | |
| Coordinates | 41°51′39″N 87°38′04″W / 41.86083°N 87.63444°W |
| Carries | 2 tracks of the Canadian National Railway |
| Crosses | Chicago River (south branch) |
| Locale | Chicago, Illinois |
| Official name | St. Charles Air Line Bridge |
| Maintained by | Canadian National Railway |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Strauss Trunnion bascule lift span |
| Longest span | Originally 260 feet (79 m), later shortened to 220 feet (67 m) in 1930 |
| History | |
| Designer | Joseph Strauss |
| Opened | 1919 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of St. Charles Air Line Bridge | |
The St. Charles Air Line Bridge is a Strauss Trunnion bascule bridge which spans the Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois.
Built as part of the St. Charles Air Line Railroad by the American Bridge Company in 1919, the bridge originally had a span of 260 feet (79 m). This bridge held the world record for longest bascule-type span until 1930, when it was shortened to 220 feet (67 m) during a relocation as a result of straightening the river channel. The chief design engineer of the original bridge was Leonard O. Hopkins.
History
[edit source]The bridge's record-setting 260 feet (79 m) leaf was motivated primarily by federal clear-channel requirements, and the design included provisions for a one-time move to a straighter South Branch channel.[1] It was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 12, 2007.[2]
- ↑ Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-157, "St. Charles Air Line Bridge"
- ↑ "St. Charles Air Line Bridge". City of Chicago. Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
Photo gallery
[edit source]
Chicago landscape with a boat
St. Charles Air Line Bridge, May 17, 2022.
See also
[edit source]- The adjacent B&OCT Bascule Bridge, with more information about the history of both bridges
- List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois
Further reading
[edit source]- "Counterweight Repair of Historic St. Charles Air Line Bridge" (PDF). Concrete Repair Bulletin. 28 (6): 9–13. November 2015.
External links
[edit source]- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-157, "St. Charles Air Line Bridge"
- Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere
- St. Charles Air Line Bridge, Spanning South Branch of Chicago River, north of Sixteenth Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL Photos from Survey HAER IL-157 Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
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- Bridges completed in 1919
- Bascule bridges in Illinois
- Bridges in Chicago
- Historic American Engineering Record in Chicago
- Railroad bridges in Illinois
- Canadian National Railway bridges in the United States
- Chicago Landmarks
- United States railway bridge stubs
- Illinois bridge (structure) stubs
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