Lockport's Abandoned Bridge Over the Des Plaines: Division Street Bridge

By

Division St Bridge in Lockport, IL is currently closed to all traffic (including pedestrian traffic) and hidden behind growth. 

The bridge approach is only accessible via IL-53 on the west side of the Des Plaines River/Sanitary Ship Canal.

Forgotten Railways, Roads & Places Photo (August 2018)

According to HistoricBridges, "this abandoned bridge which is closed to all traffic carried Division Street over Des Plaines River. At one time an additional bridge, a swing bridge which is today gone, would have carried the street over the Sanitary and Ship Canal to the east as well. This bridge was reportedly closed in 1993 when a high level bridge was constructed for IL-7 about three quarters of a mile north of this bridge.

"Historical Photo of the Day: Workers pause for a photo while redecking the 16th Street Bridge (now Division Street) over the Des Plaines River in Lockport, Illinois, on October 23, 1923, viewed to the east." (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago)

Dennis DeBruler has an excellent write-up on the history of this bridge, and thus there's very little more for me to discuss that he hasn't already done so! 


Location: E Division St, Lockport, IL 60441, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

11 Of The Most Amazing Abandoned Railroad Bridges Still Standing Today

By
Image
With the hundreds of thousands of miles of abandoned railroad corridors in the world, it's no surprise that some of the most amazing infrastructure humanity has ever built was eventually abandoned, or re-purposed. And indeed, many bridges, trestles and viaducts have been lost to history, such as the Brushy Creek Viaduct in Alabama. But there are also many which still stand today which serve as reminders of bygone days, the folly of man, or the power of Mother Nature, or some combination thereof. Here are 11 such bridges. 11) Goat Canyon Trestle, Jacumba Hot Springs, CA (32.729167, -116.183333) Image: CoachellaValley.com Goat Canyon Trestle is the largest standing (for now) wooden trestle in the United States, and in spots is 200 feet off the ground, and 750 feet long. Built in the 1930's, it's actually a lot younger than it looks, since by the 1930's, steel had all but replaced wood as the preferred construction material for bridges. It was made out of woo
Read more

The Forgotten Railways of Chicago: The Chicago Great Western Railway

By
Image
View from Goldmine Rd, west of Pearl City, IL, along the abandoned CGW right-of-way. Other than a small Canadian National Railway operation near DuPage Airport, a few industrial customers for Union Pacific between Tyler Rd and Kautz Rd in St. Charles, and a small operation serving the power plant in Byron, the entirety of the 147 mile former Chicago Great Western Railway line between Forest Park and Galena Jct is abandoned, making it the longest abandonment from Chicago by far. The line extended from Chicago, on trackage which now leads to the Union Pacific Global 1 yard, and then followed a line immediately north of where the current Forest Park CTA station is today, paralleling the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Interurban Railroad, which itself is abandoned. But before we see what the line looks like today, let's examine Chicago Great Western's history. CGW Westbound at Elmhurst, IL. 1962 Image: Roger Puta The Chicago Great Western was one of the last Class
Read more

Abandoned Railroad Rights-of-Way Map: Year Two

By
Image
On March 29th, 2016, I would begin the journey to map the abandoned railroad network. This blog is going to give you a little history of the project, and where it is now, and where I would like it to go. Before I say anything else, thank you for your support. This project would be nowhere near where it is right now without your help, information, and enthusiasm. I've had the great pleasure of being able to talk to many of you about abandoned railroad lines, many of which I wouldn't have been able to find myself. So thank you! BACKGROUND: Before this project began, I would hardly be described as a railfan. I mean, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy trains, however my background is in the traffic industry. Aside from that, I loved learning the history of our road network, and how roads got their numbers and why they traveled in the direction they did. Both the US Route Network and the Interstate Highway System are highly fascinating, to me at least. I honestly found the
Read more