Division (16th) Street Bridges over I&M Canal, Des Plaines River and CS&SC at Lockport, IL

DPR Bridge, 1899: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; 3D Satellite)
CS&SC Bridge, 1905-1993: (Bridge Hunter; HAER; Satellite, gone)
I&M Canal Bridge: (Bridge Hunter; 3D Satellite)

CS&SC = Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal

I&M Canal Overview

Bill Law posted
The Old entrance to Lockport, IL over the Desplaines river, off U.S. 66 (Route 53). Abandoned. Division Street
Dennis DeBruler The shape of the trusses indicates that you were on the west side and the island indicates that you were on the north side.
There is a third truss buried in the trees on the far side.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.5805481,-88.../data=!3m1!1e3

When I first came to the Chicagoland area, I not only drove Division Street from State Street in Lockport to IL-53, I went south on an access road along the SC&CS to visit the Lockport Lock. Now Division Street is closed to the public between Prairie Avenue in Lockport and the Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve. This is what you encounter when you head east along Division Street in the preserve.

20150702 2416

Jeremy Brzycki got a better view past the trees of the trusses over the DuPage River.

Jeremy Brzycki posted
Ben Felber Wow alot to dial for an emergency....911 would be quicker.
Josh Anders Ben Felber and 911 would have to call one of them numbers to open a Damn or somthing. 911 wouldn't be much help there unless people where under water already.
Adam J. Bader Sr. What causes the water flows?
Dennis DeBruler A sudden change would be caused by these control gates being opened to lower the level of the water in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.5979778,-88.../data=!3m1!1e3
I don't know when the last time was that they were opened.

Bob Dodge commented on Jeremy's post
West Division Street Lockport Illinois
["Bridge has a slight curve between pratt span and Main Parker Spain." [Bridge Hunter]]

The MWRD got an even better view back when it was being used. 

MWRD posted
MWRD posted
A view of workers re-decking the 16th Street Bridge (now Division Street) over the Des Plaines River in Lockport, Illinois, on October 23, 1923
Dennis DeBruler: And a view in the left background of the bobtail (asymmetrical swing) bridge over the CS&SC.

 

Dennis DeBruler commented on MWRD's post

I was surprised that the bridge across the CS&SC in the background was on a significant angle to this bridge. But a topo map confirms that the bobtail bridge was over the canal.

1954 Joliet Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

I remember when I came to the Chicago area in the 1970s that I took Division Street to the road along the canal to go to the visitor center at the lock. And then I continued across these bridges to get to IL-7. Now Division Street is closed before you can get to the lock's access road.

Tim Sullivan

maybe the bridge in the back is swung open letting a barge pass

Dennis DeBruler

It did. A bobtail bridge is a swing bridge with an offset. This bridge was very similar to the 135th Street Bridge that is now preserved in a forest preserve.

https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../romeoville...

It takes more guts than I have to go down the access road along the west side of the CS&SC canal to get to here to take the above photo. I chicken out when I encounter the gates across the access road.

Joel Craig posted
This is the seldom-seen east side of the Division St bridge near Lockport, IL. Back in the day, Division St. connected Rt. 53 to the west, and IL 171 through the heart of Lockport. This iron bridge spans the DesPlaines River, and then a swing bridge crossed the Sanitary and Ship Canal. On the east side of the canal, there was a sharp bend in the road, and then Division continued into town. It was "a thing" to see how fast you could drive across these one lane bridges and make the quick bend, without wrecking your car. The west side of this bridge is blocked off, but accessible in the Lockport Prairie Forest Preserve property. This photo was taken from an access road on Water Reclamation Dist. property.

The top photo in eBook has a 1948 view of the three truss spans.

The Bridge Hunter page for this multiple-truss bridge has several photos by three people. They recognized the historic significance of these pin-connected trusses.

The bobtail bridge that used to go over the canal is similar to the 135th Street Bridge that has been preserved in a Forest Preserve.

Photo from HAER ILL,99-LOCK,3B--7 (CT) from il0435

GENERAL VIEW OF THE BRIDGE IN OPERATION - Lockport Historic District, Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, Swing Bridge, Sixteenth Street, Lockport, Will County, IL

There is something wrong with the view above because the view below looks more appropriate. Is the canal partially drained above so that they could do work on the bridge? Both views have the 9th Street Bridge in the background, so they are both looking North.

Photo from HAER ILL,99-LOCK,3B--1 from il0435

This is the view I would expect to see for the bridge in operation.

Photo from HAER ILL,99-LOCK,3B--5 from il0435

This old aerial view shows that there was a jog in Division Street to accommodate the bridges.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Was the 1939 photo taken during a drought? The river is significantly narrower than today's river.

Satellite

MWRD posted
Construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal extension near Lockport, Illinois, looking south from north of Sixteenth Street on February 19, 1906.
MWRD posted

Dennis DeBruler commented on MWRD's post
16th Street must have been renamed as Division Street. I knew there was a sharp bend in the street on the west side of the canal. Until I looked at this 3D satellite view, I never realized that the bend was because the street went down an embankment. This view confirms that the bridge in the background is the now closed Division Street Bridge over the Des Plaines River.

MWRD posted July17, 2021
 Construction of a swing bridge over the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal at 16th Street in Lockport, Illinois, on April 6, 1906.
MWRD posted

We can see the trusses over the Des Plaines River on the right side of this photo. 

MWRD posted
Construction of a bridge on the east side of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal extension near 16th Street in Lockport, Illinois, on June 1, 1906.

MWRD posted
Historical Photo of the Week: Construction of the abutment for the 16th Street roadway bridge that connected to the swing bridge over the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal in Lockport, Illinois, on April 6, 1906. This photo shows a view looking north

MWRD posted on Dec 19, 2022
Workers repair a section of wall on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near 16th Street in Lockport, Illinois, on July 11, 1911.

Even the plain bridge over the I&M canal has changed since I first came to the Chicago area. In fact, this one changed since I started writing this blog in May 2014. On one of my trips to check out Lock #1, I noticed that Division Street was closed over the canal. Below is the old bridge. You can see the steel I-beams that were added under the deck as a "patch" to prolong its life.

Photo by Steve Conro via Bridge Hunter

This street view shows the replacement bridge.

Street View

Where was this bridge?

MWRD posted
A view to the east showing the Deep Run Bridge at 16th Street in Lockport, Illinois, on September 24, 1923.

K&SW: Kankakee & SouthWest Overview (Otto Tower) and Bloomer Line

Heading west from Otto Tower was a route that fed three IC branches. My 1967 IC map does not have the Tracy branch. I had to use an older map, 1891. See (far) below for more info on this "branch of a branch."

<source of map is lost>

Towns, and junctions, on this branch that I have noted so far:

• Otto Tower
• Vulcan Limestone Quarry
• Herscher
• Cabery
• Buckingham
• Northern Branch
• Scovel
• Southern Branch
• Cooksville
• Minonk/Kankakee Junction

"K. & S. W." stands for Kankakee & SouthWest. And the Tracy branch was added later to serve coal mines.

Predecessor_Lines via Dennis DeBruler

From the key on the above map:

Predecessor_Lines via Dennis DeBruler

Unfortunately, system maps are not geographically accurate. Fortunately, AJ Grigg's abandoned railroad map is quite accurate. The Tracy Branch is the green trace that goes northwest, then northish of Buckingham, IL. This branch, along with branches of the EJ&E and GM&O, were obviously built to serve the Northern Illinois/Peabody Coal Company. This post discusses where this branch crossed the NYC Kankakee Belt.

AJ Grigg's Abandoned Railroad Map

I use the following topo map with a green line to highlight the Bloomington District that went from Otto Tower on the IC mainline to Bloomington on the IC central charter route. The yellow line highlights the IC Pontiac District that used to go from the Bloomington District south of Kempton to the central charter route south of Minonk. The blue line is a remnant of the Wabash Railroad and is discussed later because it is now part of the Bloomer Line.

1958 Peoria and Aurora plus 1957 Chicago Quadrangles @ 1:250,000

Zooming in on the west end of the Pontiac District we can see that the segment between Flanagan and the central charter route had already been abandoned by 1958. But what is really bizarre is that the route is labelled Illinois Central Gulf. ICG was not created until 1972!

1958 Peoria Quadrangle @ 1:250,000

Satellite

Treelines still mark the wye where the Pontiac District joined the Bloomington District. This junction was called Saxony. [abanicp]

Now the entire Pontiac District is abandoned and the west end and the east end of the Bloomington District is abandoned.

.

Bloomer Line (BLOL)

The middle part of the Bloomington District is now owned by the shortline Bloomer Line (BLOL). This shortline also owns the former-Wabash route between the former-IC route and Gibson City that was abandoned by Norfolk Southern. CN still owns the track between Herscher and Otto Tower.

The [BLOL] railroad was formed by purchase of the former Illinois Central (now-CNIC) line from Hescher to Barnes, IL. The track from Kempton to Colfax, IL is in operation. The railroad started operation in June, 1985. In May, 1990, the railroad acquired from N&W (now-NS) the line from Strawn to Gibson City. [casr]

IlliniRail

A user comment on the Pontiac District abandonment is interesting:

This is the former Illinois Central Pontiac District. It was of light rail, as were the Bloomington (Bloomer Line) and Rantoul Districts, and most grade crossings were protected only by a crossbuck. Interlockings consisted of dwarf signals on the Pontiac District and sometimes, signals that required opening the interlocking cabin and operating levers to get a green or yellow dwarf signal.
The connections at Saxony and Minonk were merely switches to the Amboy District and Bloomington Districts of the Illinois Central. There were no signals, just a wooden telephone booth. There were horns to use in inclement weather or other unfavorable conditions at Pontiac, where also a Wabash branch crossed.
Of these three light-duty lines, only parts of the Bloomington District survive as the bloomer line.
George R. Carlisle
formerly Urbana , IL
1/13/2014

Another view of the abandonments. This includes other abandonments such as the Wabash route from Strawn to Manhattan.

AJ Grigg's Abandoned RR Map

Four of the resources I studied, ChicagoRailfan, Bloomer Line, Shortlines and the above abandoned RR map indicate the Bloomer Line goes past Cullom. But I have to agree with AbandonedRails that service ends at Cullom. That town does have an elevator with a yellow fall protector.

Street View

Satellite

I found a cut of cars stored north of town until the track disappeared. It may have disappeared because it is under weeds and/or dirt because you can see track further north. But I see a truck, instead of track, on the RoW by the elevator in Kempton.

Satellite

Larry Candilas posted three images with the comment:

A branch of a branch

Anybody know anything about the IC RR branch that split off the Bloomington District at Buckingham IL (MP 75.7)? It was obviously built to tap the coal near Wilmington seeing where it ended and it seems to have been abandoned before the 1939 aerials I have. Any info be appreciated.

Karl Zumwalt: You are correct it went to the strip mines for coal and I think it was abandoned when the seam of coal ran out ? I work for the NS and I think where it crossed the Kankakee Belt Line it was called Clarke City Junction.

1

2

3

Larry Candilas commented on his post
Here's a map from the state of Illinois showing the lay-out.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Larry's post
I'd noticed that "twig" when I was studying topo maps as to what all branched off from the Otto Tower. But I could not find it on IC maps except for this 1891 map. Unfortunately, I lost my source for this map.

MS-25 Scruggs Bridge over Tennessee-TombigBee Waterway

(no Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

When I was headed north on MS-25 to Pickwick Landing Dam, I noticed a sign at a bridge indicating the bridge crossed the Tennessee-TombigBee Waterway. I recognized that as the canal between the Tennessee River and a river that goes to the Gulf of Mexico. Soon after I crossed the bridge, I noticed a sign for a boat ramp, so I went down the road to the ramp to check out the view. When I arrived by the river, there was a semi-truck crossing the bridge with a regular trailer. The trailer looking small made me appreciate how big the steel girders were. I waited for another truck to cross to catch a photo with the truck providing scale. Unfortunately, the next three trucks were empty log trucks. But the cab provides some scale. And the girders are even deeper as it crosses the piers. The size of these girders is why I'm doing yet another steel girder bridge.

20200219 1319

The photo also shows that we are in the canal part of the waterway since the banks are equidistant the entire length.

The long span over land on the south end must be for floods otherwise they would have just made the embankment on that side longer.

I'm surprised that a canal dug across a divide between the Tennessee River and the Gulf of Mexico would be prone to significant flooding. But this clearance gauge painted on a pier indicates that the river level can be an issue. Note that we were visiting when the Tennessee and Perl Rivers were flooding. Yet this water level seems well within the banks of the canal.

As I left the boat ramp road, I took a photo of the sign marking the facility.

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is a "no wake" canal. Did the USACE add rip-rap to the banks of this canal for the benefit of speed boats? This is the first time I have seen water skiing on a canal.

Screenshot

The boat ramp road also had a boat storage facility. In the Chicago area boats are stored in the winter because of ice. On the Tennessee River, boats are evidently stored because of floods and high river flows. I saw other boat storage facilities in this area.

Scruggs Bridge Boat Storage, cropped

A view in the other direction shows that the rip-rap consists of some fairly large rocks. Our van was the only visitor. The fact that the temperature was struggling to get into the 50s may be why there was no boat activity. Or maybe it was because the current on the nearby Tennessee River was high.

First Lock and Dam on Illinois River and IL-18 Bridges at Henry, IL

1870 Abandoned Lock: (Satellite)
1870 Bridge: (Bridge Hunter)
1935+1988 Bridge: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; John A. Weeks III; Satellite)

I&M Canal Overview

Terry Baker posted

Part of the old locks and dam at Henry IL   Purpose? It sure has a good look.

Kerry Doyle Looks similar to the housing for a gauging station, which would report water height and flow.
Rob Smith Yes. And since the Peoria Pool is so long ( 74 river miles ) and an elevation difference of 18 feet along that distance.... Commercial mariners keep a pretty close eye on the gage there during rising or falling river events. It is approximately halfway between Peoria and Starved Rock.
Dennis DeBruler I learned that "right bank" is from the perspective of a boat going downstream.
https://rivergages.mvr.usace.army.mil/.../stationinfo2...
Learning about an abandoned lock is fascinating.
Dennis DeBruler "This lock here is the largest and most complete of any on this continent. Twelve canal boats can be taken through at one lockage. The gates, four in number, are wonderfully ponderous in their dimensions, each gate being forty-three feet wide, and twenty-four feet high, and containing 25,000 feet of lumber, and ten tons of iron, and yet their construction and machinery are such that two men can handle them easily."
http://genealogytrails.com/.../mar.../history/HenryLock.html

The shadow makes it easy to find the river gauge on the upstream side of the land wall of the old lock.

Satellite

Dennis DeBruler commented on Terry's post
Several web sites have copies of this postcard. This was the first lock and dam on the Illinois River.
https://www.cityofhenryil.org/history-of-locks-dam-and...

A colorization of the above

James Leffel & Co. / Public domain

LandmarkHunter
The lock and dam was built to extend the navigation season to improve the utilization of the I&M Canal.

Art Kistler, IDOT photographer, 1931 via Bridge Hunter
Henry Bridge, 1931

Lisa Ruble posted
The David Swain on the Illinois River at Henry 

Gene Smania 1988 via Bridge Hunter, License: Released into public domain
Look upstream

Street View
[The trees on the right hide two more spans over the flood plain.]

Art Kistler, IDOT photographer, 1935 via Bridge Hunter

John A. Weeks III
Prior to 1870, the Illinois river was shallow enough in the area of Henry that horse and buggy traffic could ford the river most of the year. This was convenient for land travelers, but it made river navigation all but impossible.

To solve the river navigation problem, the Henry Lock & Dam was built, opening in 1870. The lock and dam project cost $400,000. It was the first lock and dam structure on the Illinois River. While the lock and dam was successful, it raised the water level of the river high enough that it could no longer be forded. As a result, a new wood and iron bridge with a swing span was built between 1867 and 1870. It was designed for horse and carriage traffic.

John A. Weeks III

 

Rodney LeQuia posted

Chris Murphy: Definitely Henry bridge lol old Henry lock there on the right descending side. First lock and dam built on the IL river back in 1870.

Joe DeSmit: Channel markers in wrong spot lol.

Steven Hearn: 2 of 1000’s of stray buoys that are out there. Coast Guard used to pay to get them back,

Bruce Congdon posted
Brad Bennick S/B at Henry Il.

CityOfHentryIL
After many years of carrying traffic across the Illinois River, the bridge again was closed in 1988.  Construction crews worked night and day to repair the vital link between Putnam County on the east side of the river and the Henry community on the west.  Traffic was rerouted to surrounding communities.  School buses customized their routes to provide continued service to the students.

The race between Illinois and Kentucky to see who can destroy all of their truss bridges first is still on.

Henry Bridge

Posted October 27, 2019, by Anthony Scriven (Ascriven1 [at] juno [dot] com)

Sadly, IDOT has now announced plans to replace this truss bridge as well. Plan to replace with a new bridge by 2025. Probably a UCEB in the works. Fewer truss bridges over the Illinois with each passing year.
https://www.pjstar.com/news/20191027/gateway-bridge-into-hen...

I wondered if the green spot in the river off the east bank was a remnant of the dam.

Satellite

So I fired up Global Earth to look at the area with different river levels, and I concluded that it is just a high spot on a sand bar.

Michael Magee posted

Michael Magee posted