North Avenue Bridge in Chicago, Illinois
  • Oak Park is getting a new 19-story hotel and condo tower: http://bit.ly/ddzpU - Thu, 02 Jul
  • All about the Sears Tower's new glass ledges, with pics: http://bit.ly/ecMWk - Thu, 02 Jul
  • More first pictures of The Ledge at Sears Tower from the Chicago Architecture Blog: http://bit.ly/NeXzi - Wed, 01 Jul
  • Eagle eyes notice that the signs in the new Sears Tower visitors center now read "Willis Tower." - Wed, 01 Jul
  • Back from experiencing the glass ledges at Skydeck Chicago on the 103rd floor of Sears Tower. Very cool. Not scary at all. Very well done.

See more Tweets... RSS feed

The Making of The Ledge

Posted to the Flickr Pool by artefaqscorporation

Add your photos!

The Newberry Library
North Avenue Bridge
1200 West North Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, Lincoln Park 60622 United StatesPrint this page   •   Share this page   •   Map This

It's always the workhorses of Chicago that never get noticed. The bits of infrastructure that are so essential to our everyday lives that we forget they are there. The North Avenue Bridge is one of those forgettable structures. But not for much longer. The long-decaying bridge is being replaced by a new span. A span with a design that most cities would consider a showcase attraction. In Chicago's case, it will still cross the same barge-littered industrial backwater it always did, but this time it will do it with class.

The new North Avenue Bridge is both a suspension bridge, and a cable stay bridge. The center of the main span is held aloft by suspension cables, while the remainder of the roadway is supported by cables which radiate from the towers.

But there's more than simple form to this bridge. It is far more functional than the old one. The 1907 North Avenue Bridge had just one lane in each direction, though Chicago drivers often attempted to make four lanes out of the situation. The new bridge will actually have two full lanes each way, and will have the same clearance as the old drawbridge (technically a trunnion bascule bridge).

Chicago Spire Condo Information
Quick Facts
Notes
    > The original North Avenue Bridge is considered an historic piece of engineering. The city of Chicago offered it to other cities, but none wanted it.
    > In designing this new bridge, the location and view of the Loop skyline was taken into consideration. The bridge attempts to maximize that view.
    > The clearance under the bridge is 18 feet.
    > The bridge deck is four feet thick.
    > 1907 - The North Avenue bridge is completed.
    > 1972 - The last time the North Avenue bridge was raised.
    > 2006 - Work begins on the new North Avenue Bridge.
    > 2007 - The new North Avenue Bridge is completed.
Did You Know?
    A plaque on the original bridge read: "1907
    Fred A. Busse - Mayor
    John J. Hanberg.
    Commissioner of Public Works. John Ericson, City Engineer.
    Thos. G. Pihlfeldt
    City Bridge Engineer.
    Alexander von Babo, Structural Designer."
Rate This Bridge
method='post' action='/Building.php?ID=1555#Rate'>Current rating:50% 70%  name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Praise' class='Plain'> name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Raze' class='Plain'>
Your Thoughts

There are four comments.

  In light of recent events, new bridge construction is crucial for traffic safety. According to CNN reports 4583/26103 of Illinois bridges are deemed deficient or obsolete. It is a good thing that this bridge was replaced, but I am sure there are more that need replacement such as those on Divison or Halsted.

Jay - Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 @ 10:26pm  

  I believe this will be a great addition to Chicago, I am not sure if anyone has done thier research, but this bridge will be the first of its kind in the U.S.A.

Anthony - Thursday, March 15th, 2007 @ 7:12pm  

  There are many people, particularly those with historical engineering backgrounds, who feel that the historic bridge was far more beautiful. Along with the other similar (but note, not identical) bridges in Chicago, all these bridges create a feeling of history and heritage in Chicago and are far more representative of what makes Chicago special than this new "toy" bridge they are currently building.

Nathan Holth - Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 @ 5:22pm  

Add Your Comments name="Name" id="Name" class="Required" size="40" value="">
name="Email" id="Email" class="Required" size="40" value="">


name="Precious" value="Snowflake">

E-mail address for validation only. It will not be displayed.
Valid name and e-mail address required.

name="on" id="Email" class="Required" size="10" maxlength="2">This helps fight spam bots.
name="ea" id="Email" class="Required" size="10" maxlength="4">This helps fight spam bots.
value="Add">
  CAI Community   CAI Extras   CAI Tools   CAI Sister Sites
Copyright 2009 Artefaqs Corporation. Artefaqs® and the Artefaqs logo are registered trademarks of the Artefaqs Corporation.
Neither text nor images from this web site may be used without permission.
All your skyscrapers are belong to us.