The railway bridge on Kinzie Street

The railroad bridge over the Chicago River in the Kinsey Street neighborhood was once vital to the city. Built in 1908, it has helped trains flow seamlessly from one shore to the other for nearly a century, providing industry for Chicago’s West Side.

The bridge is a single-span lifting structure. At the time of construction, it was the longest and heaviest lift bridge in the world. The technical finding of the authors of the project was a huge counterweight, which allowed to keep the wing of the bridge in a raised position. When it was necessary to pass the railway, the bridge was lowered. Then they were raised again so as not to interfere with the movement of transport along the river.

With the development of urban transport networks, the need to use the bridge disappeared. In the '90s, only the Chicago Sun-Times carried paper for its printing press through this branch. But in the future, she refused such a scheme of transportation.

In 2001, the bridge was lowered for the last time. Then its wing was raised, and in this position it remains to this day.