I wonder how far away those smokestack were. Today's CalSag is wider than the original one.
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| MWRD posted A view to the south showing a bridge over the Cal-Sag Channel at Chicago Street in Blue Island, Illinois, on August 29, 1924. |
Chatham Street Bridge with a little of Division Street Bridge in the left background.
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| Street View, Jun 2023 |
One of a pair of nearly identical bridges over the Cal Sag Channel in Blue Island. The other is at Division Street, and was in about the same bad condition prior to their rehab.Rehabilitation of this bridge for pedestrian and bicycle use as part of the Cal-Sag Trail is complete. It also serves pedestrian traffic from the south side of the Cal-Sag to the Metra commuter train stations on the north side of the Cal-Sag.It needed repairs badly - It was closed to traffic but left open to pedestrians after the 2010 inspection rated it "Imminent Failure", but then in 2015 it was also closed to pedestrians. It appears that between 1964 when it was built, and 2016 when rehabilitation started, it had received no maintenance at all, not even painting.The 2016 rehabilitation replaced and narrowed the deck, and rehabbed the steel superstructure. The narrower deck has exposed the bottom chord and its complex connections to easy view. This is not always possible on steel truss bridges, making this a very accessible bridge for one wanting to study what holds steel truss bridges together.[BridgeHunter_Chatham]
Before the 2017 rehab
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| Street View, Jul 2012 |
Both bridges were built in 1965, neglected, closed in 2010 and rehabilitated in 2016. However, Chatham Street Bridge is not for non-motorized traffic only.
"This bridge is one of two nearly identical bridges in Blue Island that are both deteriorated and closed to traffic. The reason for the deterioration appears to be caused by a nearly complete lack of maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation over the bridge's relatively short service life. From a historical perspective, the lack of maintenance is interesting since aside from the deterioration, the bridge appears as it was when first built. The original concrete deck remains, with only some minor patching for potholes. Original pedestrian railings remain, and typical of older truss bridges with sidewalks there are no railings between the truss lines and the vehicular roadway. Original stringer approach spans remain in place. Expansion joints also appear to be original. A bridge painted date is painted on the bridge as May 1965 which indicates the bridge has never been repainted since its initial painted. There also is no evidence of spot painting. It is this lack of even basic spot painting over the bridge's service life that most likely has led to the isolated areas of complete section loss on a number of vertical members. This bridge is thus an excellent unaltered example of a 1960s truss bridge as much as it is an excellent example of the value of basic maintenance such as spot painting, which would have been drastically cheaper than a rehabilitation would be, or even worse, a complete structure replacement." [HistoricBridges_Chatham]
This view shows how we can see the under deck girders and their attachment to the trusses. I have to give some thought to making a road trip.
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| Street View, Apr 2025 |
Division Street has a more traditional portal view of a truss bridge.
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| Street View, Apr 2025 |
