1873+1896+1946+1948,1985 US-67 Bridges over Rock River at Milan, IL

1873 North Channel (Sears Mill): (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1873 South Channel (Milan): (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter, could not find link.)

1896 Swing Bridge over Hennepin Canal: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

1948 North Channel: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

1948 South Channel and Hennepin Canal: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

 The 1873 bridge also carried interurban traffic. (Some sources call it trolly traffic.)

ArchivedBridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873 specifies a built date of 1873, but BridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873 specifies a date of 1881. I'm sticking with the 1873 date in these notes.

The 1946 date in the title is for a temporary Bailey bridge that was used until the 1948 replacement bridge opened.

1873 North Channel (Sears Mill Bridge)

Retro Quad Cities posted two photos with the comment: "On March 18, 1946, at 7:07 pm, one span of the Rock River Bridge between Milan and Rock Island collapsed.   Milan and the rural surrounding areas lost power due to the high voltage line on top of the bridge getting severed.  Illinois Bell also lost phone service and, with the aid of a gun from the Arsenal, shot a line across the river to pull a phone circuit to Milan."

Tom Barris: The bridge was built in 1895. It was replaced by the current bridge in 1948, and that bridge was rehabilitated in 1985. [So we now have the built dates of 1873, 1881 and 1895 for this bridge.]

Bob Schaechter: I remember that...And single lane Bailey bridge that replaced it.

Retro Quad Cities shared

1

Miles W. Rich: This picture was taken from the Rock Island side next to the Power Dam toward Vandruff's Island.

[Note the interurban/trolley tracks on the bridge.]

2

John Elmo Wright commented on Retro Quad Cities' share
Looking north towards RI. What remained of the old bridge on the left. New (current) 11th Street Bridge on the right, under construction.
[That must be the Bailey bridge on the right.]

BridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873

1946 photo by The Dispatch via BridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873

Mar 19, 1946, photo by The Dispatch via BridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873

1873 South Channel (Milan Bridge)

Upper Mississippi Valley via ArhivedBridgeHunter_1873 South Channel
[The lattice-truss bridge in the background was the original Rock Island Bridge.]

1946 Bailey Bridge

Apr 27, 1946, photo by The Dispatch via BridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873

Apr 26, 1946, photo by The Dispatch via BridgeHunter_North_Channel_1873

1896 Swing Bridge over Hennepin Canal

Archive Bridge Hunter and Bridge Hunter agree that this bridge was built in 1896. 

Photo provided by John Vize via BridgeHunter_1896.
[The caption says that trollys used the railroad bridge in the background. I think that is wrong. That railroad bridge was built by the Rock Island. The Rock Island was a Class I railroad, and they would not have messed around sharing their tracks with light rail services (interurban, streetcar and/or trolley). As I noted in Photo 1 above, I think the light rail services used this road bridge.]

2012 photo by Gene Smania via BridgeHunter_1896
The caption comments: "section of rails still visible on south approach.]

Old Road

I had trouble figuring out the location of the old bridges on a satellite image. That is because the old road zigged and zagged much more than I thought it would. It is easy to locate the swing bridge because the central pier is extant. And I think that today's North Ave. was at the south abutment of the 1873 North Channel (Sears Mill Bridge).

1944/58 Milan Quad @ 62,500

Aban/Swinging/Duck and 1890,2006 DGVR/WM Bridges over Roaring Creek in Elkins, WV

(no Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

DGVR = Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad

Aban/Swinging/Duck Bridge

Facebook Reel
It closed in 2016.

Same Reel

Bridge Hutner and Linda call this the Elkins Swinging Bridge, but Google Maps labels it the Duck Bridge. I count five ducks.

Same Reel

DGVR/Western Maryland Bridge

Street View, Sep 2023

2008 photo by Jim Allen via BridgeHunter
A Shay locomotive pulling a special excursion train.

I presume this was the end of the Shay excursion train.

2008 photo by Jim Allen via BridgeHunter

The Shay used the bridge two years after it was reconstructed. BridgeHunter calls 2006 the built date for this bridge.

2015 photo by Jim Allen via BridgeHunter

This is the depot where the DGVR trains terminate. The railroad bridge is peaking out by the tree on the right side of this view. The grey building was a Feed Mill that now houses two museums. [Dennis DeBruler]

Street View, Sep 2023

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock #52, Erie Canal Heritage Park and LOIS McCLURE Canal Boat

(Satellite)

Eric Nordberg posted
"After retiring the vessel, the Museum donated it to the Canal Society in 2023. It will now continue its educational mission at the park."
NewYorkAlmanack
Canal Boat Replica Lois McClure Moved to Port Byron
[The article includes a summary of the replica Canal Boats along the canal.]

ErieCanal_current, this webpage has a lot more current photos of the lock

ErieCanal_historical, this webpage has a lot more historical images of the area

John Kucko Digital posted

Historic Replica Vessel To Be Moved:  Quite a scene today near Port Byron, NY as the Lois McClure, a replica canal schooner, will be moved to the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park here.  A tractor trailer will pull the boat, with escort,  on a small portion of the NYS Thruway to the park once inspection is passed.  The boat had been worked on for months to get it ready for public display.   It’s a full-scale replica of the 1862 Erie Canal schooner which was used to educate folks on the background of the historic waterway.  The vessel will be placed into old Lock 52 in Port Byron—first time a boat will be in that lock since 1917.  It will be part of a land based exhibit here at this terrific Heritage Park.  

   The Lois McClure was built in 2004 at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont.  The vessel had been used as an educational boat for years throughout the northeast and was named after Vermont philanthropist and educational advocate Lois Jean Howe McClure who passed away last January at the age of 98.  Her rich legacy lives on in a multitude of ways and this is one of them at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY.

The boat was trucked through the lock to get to its final resting place.

Some photos posted Dec 23, 2025, by Canal Society of New York State. I changed the order to make more sense.

Dave Van Iderstine: I'll bet those 8,000 cars behind it were glad to see it finally reach its destination too 😃

Canal Society of New York State: Dave Van Iderstine: Thankfully it was only on the thruway for a very short distance and took less than 10 minutes on I90.

a, cropped

b, cropped

c, cropped

d, cropped

e

f

g

Christine Van Horn commented on the above post, cropped

New York State Police posted six photos with the comment: "A historic ship made a historic journey along the NYS Thruway in central New York today. State Police helped escort the Lois McClure replica canal schooner from the Seneca River to her new home at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park-Port Byron. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen."

1

2

3

4

5

6

Now the truck is on the other (stern) end of the trailer so that it can pull the trailer from the park after the boat is resting on its final mounts.

Jordan village Historian posted three photos with the comment: "The Lois McClure has finally arrived at Lock 52! The hard work of a cadre of canal aficionados over the last several years has brought this replica laker canal boat to her new final home where she will a focal piece of canal education at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park! Congratulations to all! And welcome Lois to our community ❤️"

1

2

3

John went back after the trailer was removed.

John Kucko Digital posted four photos with the comment:

History Made at Old Erie Canal Lock 52:  Quite a sight in Port Byron, NY along the old Erie Canal bed there as the Lois McClure vessel became the first boat since 1917 to enter Lock 52 at what is now part of the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park.  This move occurred yesterday during a tedious transport, I visited this morning to see the vessel in place.  You can see the historic 1894 Erie House Saloon in the background of this first image. Back in the day, boaters would grab a beverage [while] their vessels were moved through the lock.  The move of the Lois McClure into the lock was an unconventional one as the boat was put onto a flatbed tractor trailer.  New York State Police diligently conducted a series of inspections before the move yesterday could occur.  They used a small portion of the NYS Thruway to transport the boat, with police escort (last image here courtesy NYS Police).  

    The boat had been worked on for months nearby to get it ready for public display.   It’s a full-scale replica of the 1862 Erie Canal schooner which was used to educate folks on the background of the historic waterway.  The vessel will now stay there at the old Lock 52 in Port Byron—again, first time a boat is in that lock since 1917.  It will be part of a land based exhibit here at this terrific Heritage Park which is closed in the winter months.

   The Lois McClure was built in 2004 at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont.  The vessel had been used as an educational boat for years throughout the northeast and was named after Vermont philanthropist and educational advocate Lois Jean Howe McClure who passed away last January at the age of 98.  Her rich legacy lives on in a multitude of ways and this is one of them at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY.

1

2

3

4

They trucked it from the Barge Canal near Montezuma. That would have it going eastbound on I-90 so that they could use the exit ramp that goes to the Erie Canal Heritage Park.

nycanalmap

When going eastbound, I-90 already had a special exit for the Erie Canal Heritage Park. They built a temporary road to truck the boat from the ramp, through the lock and to its final resting place.

Satellite

As John's "Historic Replica Vessel To Be Moved" photo above implies, the boat had to be lifted out of the canal and onto the trailer.

cscos_crane
The barge was transferred to land transportation at the "Fox Ridge industrial site." I presume that was here.

A drone video of the lift. The actual lift starts around 3:45.

dropbox

cscos_truck
"To safely lift and haul the 88-foot wooden schooner, C&S Technical Resources rented a highly specialized 14‑axle hydraulic trailer from Virginia, capable of supporting the vessel’s size and weight."