These are notes that I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
1933,1941,2022 Jefferson Street Bridges in Joliet, IL
These notes have been setting as a draft for years because I had intended to find my photos and add them. I've decided that I can add them later if I finally get motivated to find them.
HAER ILL, 99-JOL, 5--1 1. GENERAL VIEW OF BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTH - DesPlaines River Bridge, Jefferson Street, Joliet, Will County, IL
Westward views of the Cass Street and Jefferson Street bridges in Joliet on July 15, 1910. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) was completed in 1900 and at that time it terminated at the Lockport Controlling Works just north of 9th Street in Lockport. It was later extended further downstream to an area where the MWRD built the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock, effectively taking advantage of a nearly 40-foot difference in elevation between the CSSC and the Des Plaines River for hydroelectric power generation. The MWRD also made improvements to the Des Plaines River downstream of the Lockport Powerhouse as part of the Joliet Project, including river channel excavation, embankment improvements and construction of levees and bridges. Seven bridges were constructed by the MWRD for the Joliet Project, including these bridges at Jefferson Street and Cass Street.
safe_image for Is Jefferson Street Bridge Reopening? IDOT Reveals Answer "The most recent problem has involved trying to get all the new mechanical parts to line up properly and function together, city officials were told." [IDOT had claimed Oct 2021, then Thanksgiving, now (Dec 7, 2021) they are claiming by the second week of January.]
This video that was posted on May 9, 2022, shows that the bridge has finally been fixed because it shows it in the down position before it was raised for the tow.
(new window) 1x3 tow pushed by the 4-story Louisiana Belle. There is quite a bit of creaking as the two leaves are mated at 4:02. The action switches to the Cass Street Bridge at 4:39. It looks like the tow had to stop and wait for the Bridge Street Bridge to finally start going up at 6:14.
(new window) The video starts with the CSX+IAIS/Rock Island lift bridge going up. This is a rare shot because this bridge is normally up. I wonder if they have another video of the train going across the bridge. I spent all evening during the longest day of the year with my camera on a tripod waiting for the IAIS train to cross. It never did com that evening. Starting around 2:09 you can hear what sounds like a pile driver. I wonder what is being built. It looks like a 3+2 tow being pushed by a towboat with a retractable pilothouse. At 4:39 you hear a siren. I presume that is the warning that the Jefferson Street Bridge is going up. At 6:43 I think we hear the siren for the Cass Street Bridge. I wonder what sort of maneuvering issue he encountered at about 7:20 that caused the captain to "pour on the coal." The videographer caught the impressive propwash.
City of Joliet, Illinois, Government posted two photos with the comment:
Historic Preservation Month: Twenty-eight Gato/Balao Class submarines were built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. After completion of crew training and sea trials in Lake Michigan, these submarines sailed through the Chicago River and the Sanitary & Ship Canal to Lockport where they were placed on specialty-built floating dry docks. These dry docks then moved through the locks, through Joliet, onwards to the Mississippi River, and then down to New Orleans, Louisiana. Once their periscopes were reinstalled, they traveled across the Gulf of Mexico through the Panama Canal to the Pacific theater of WWII. Four of the Manitowoc Submarines were lost in combat during the war, with the loss of over 300 officers and men. These four submarines brought the total number of submarines lost in World War II, to 52. A total of 3,000 officers and men are now on Eternal Patrol.
On Wednesday, June 14th at 11:00 am, the USS Chicago Base in conjunction with the City will be dedicating a new monument to remember the Manitowoc submarine expedition and the men who served on board all World War II submarines at the Joliet Veterans Memorial at Bicentennial Park. All are welcome to attend this dedication ceremony.
1
2 [I sure hope there is a tow out-of-frame to the bottom is why the bridge is open. Or is it out of service again? (Or still?)]
As a child, I remember my parent's often waiting at those bridges for barge traffic to pass.
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