St. Claude and Claiborne Avenue Bridges over, and Lock on, Industrial Canal

From north to south or going upstream.

Claiborne: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite) Judge Seeber Bridge

Lock: (Satellite)

St. Claude: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

The formal name for the Industrial Canal is the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IH-NC).

1957 Claiborne Avenue Bridge (Judge Seeber Bridge)

The blue lift bridge towers in the right background are for the Florida Avenue Bridge.

Street View, Aug 2019

2011 photo by C Hanchey via ArchivedBridgeHunter_claiborne
["This bridge was refurbished in 2013 with new concrete railings and a new coat of paint." [Matt Lohry comment on ArchivedBridgeHunter_claiborne]]

HistoricBridges_claiborne
"This vertical lift bridge, which also includes a long approach system, stands out in Louisiana for its large size."

Industrial Canal Lock

The Claiborne Avenue Bridge is in the background, and this view was taken from the St. Claude Avenue Bridge.

Street View, Mar 2016

USACE, New Orleans District posted
PRESS RELEASE: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, released the Final General Reevaluation Report and Integrated Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lock Replacement Project for a 30-day public review from July 10, 2026, through August 10, 2026.
https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/4540034/usace-releases-final-ihnc-report-for-review/

Charlie Everhardt: US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District This Project has had Final Reports since the 1960s. On opening day, I will believe it.

Michael Park: Here comes the Corp of Carpetbaggers. The most invasive species in Louisiana.

[I could not find an estimated cost figure. It is planned to take several years to complete the project.]

Charlie wasn't kidding, they have been studying the replacement since March, 1956.

@ 4:55

The plan is to replace the lock with a larger lock between Claiborne and Florida Avenues and to replace the St. Claude Bridge. Also, some of the flood walls will be replaced with levees for aesthetic reasons. (Are they replacing flood walls that were just built after Hurricane Katrina?)

@ 0:02

Part of the replaning: "The lock has been resized from 1,200 feet and -36 feet deep to 900 feet by 22 feet deep, reflecting the removal of deep-draft navigation following the closure of the MRGO." (I don't know what the MRGO was.)

@ 3:46
"The lock now ranks first in average transit time and second in average delay time of any lock in the nation. It's also increasingly unreliable with more frequent unplanned outages and a growing backlog of maintenance needs."

@ 8:08

I noticed the big crane in the street view at the top of these notes. I see that they also permanently store stop logs at the lock. So, is there a dedicated crane because of the frequency of emergency maintenance outages or because of the risk of draining the Mississippi River or because of another reason?

Satellite

The lock helps connect the Mississippi River with the eastern part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW).

@ 1:51

1919 St. Claude Avenue Bridges

@ 4:23

2010 photo by Bob Morgan via BridgeHunter_claude

As part of the lock replacement, this Strauss bridge will be replaced by a trunnion bridge.

@ 6:14

Another view of the stop-log crane. This bridge was originally built for rail and highway, then it was converted to just highway.

Street View, Mar 2023

SOC and 1951 Double-Swing Bridges over North Landing River at Chesapeake, VA

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

SOC = Strauss Overhead Counterweight

Douglas Butler posted
Credit to Will: Here is a 94 ft North Landing Strauss Overhead  Counterweight Bascule Bridge built in 1916 carrying Virginia Route 165 Mt Pleasant Rd near Chesapeake, VA was replaced with today's 1951 double swing bridge.

Ben Wocken, Aug 2019

You can barely see the second set of humps in the girders.

Street View, Aug 2011

For small boats, they open just one span. I've never seen a double swing span for such a narrow opening before. Maybe it is so they can half the wear on each span that they used it here.

Tim Brown, Aug 2020

Here they are both open.

Sancho Castro, Feb 2020

Because of the angle, we can barely see the span on the right.

Christine Heinsohn, Dec 2019

Hylebos (11th Street) (SOC) Bridges over Hylebos Creek in Tacoma, WA

Swing: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges)

1925: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1939: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite) closed to traffic in 2001; repaired and reopened June 1, 2012

Street View, Mar 2025

Bridges Now and Then posted
"The Hylebos Bridge (Tacoma, Washington) was still under construction in 1939 when it was hit by the steamer Point San Pablo. The span was knocked four to five feet out of alignment but bounced back all but 10 inches. No one was hurt and construction remained on schedule."  (Photo courtesy: Tacoma Public Library)

The 1925 was built by Strauss Bascule Bridge Co. [ArchivedBridgeHunter_1925]

BridgeHunter_1925
[It looks like a Strauss Overhead Counterweight Bridge (SOC).]

In 1925, a single-leaf bridge replaced a wooden drawbridge. But the Department of War declared the 84' (25.6m) horizontal clearance to be a hazard to navigation, and after some legal battle, the bridge was removed starting in Dec 1935. Funding a new bridge during the depression was a challenge, but the new one, which had a 150' [45.7m] horizontal clearance, started construction in 1937. [SouthSoundTalk]

The bridge was locked in the upright position in 2001 because a drive shaft broke. "The city could have replaced the broken part for about $50,000, says Breivik. But after examining the timber, steel, and concrete apparatus, the council members decided the bridge should either be abandoned or overhauled. In 2004 an arson fire on the east side damaged the bridge’s motors and steel. And scavengers have since made off with a lot of the machinery and metal parts for scrap." Repairs were finished in Oct 2011. [wsu]

wje
"Constructed in 1939, the Hylebos Waterway Bridge is a 217-foot [66m] long double leaf trunnion bascule bridge spanning the Hylebos Creek. The bridge was originally designed for an H15 load rating.
"A failed bascule leaf drive shaft left both bridge leafs permanently open....Three years later, the bridge sustained electrical and mechanical damage from a fire. Concerned about having too few evacuation routes in the event of an emergency, the City sought to repair and re-open the bridge. To do so, WJE was retained to assess the bridge’s current capacity and design strengthening repairs needed to achieve an HS20 load rating.

On Oct 12, 2023, a tugboat assisting an ATB allided with the bridge's already deteriorated fender system. The fender system had to be replaced with a cost of $2.43m, but the bridge evidently stayed open. [gcaptain, ProfessionalMariner]

NTSB_press_release
ATB Montlake/Sodo

NTSB_report
Olympic Scout

The bridge closed in Nov 2023 because of a "motor failure." The cost to replace the motor was $50,000. [TheNewsTribune]

The bridge closed on Jan 12, 2024, because of "cold temperatures." [CityOfTacoma]

The bridge closed Aug 21, 2024 because of "an equipment issue." [nwseaportalliance]

tacoma
Again, because of cold weather, the bridge closed Jan 17, 2025.

The bridge closed Aug 19, 2025, because of a "technical malfunction." [TheNewsTribune]

It reopened on Aug 25, 2025. [tacoma]

Has this one bridge had more closures in a few years than Chicago's several bridges have had in a few decades? Chicago probably has colder temperatures.

1855+56+69+72+1910-72 Polk Street SUC Bridge on South Branch

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

SUC = Strauss Underneath Counterweight

Image via BridgeHunter
"Built 1910 to replace 1872 swing bridge; removed 1972"

The Polk Street Bridge is in the raised position in this photo. Obscured by the smoke on the left was the Pennsy Freight House, the tall building north of Polk Street was the Marshal Field River Warehouse and the buildings on the right are more freight houses.

History's Mirror posted
[I'm not copying the description because it is an example of AI gone wrong. Basically, if a statement is not a platitude, it is wrong. The dredge is in the old channel, not the new one. And "Polk and Taylor Streets" implies an intersection, but they are parallel streets. The photo below shows that the photo was taken from Taylor, and we are looking at Polk Street Bridge.
But it is a great photo of the freight houses and of Polk Street Bridge.]
Franklin Campbell shared
Dennis DeBruler: The dredge is digging in the old channel, not creating the new one. But this is a terrific photo of Polk Street Bridge.

This photo confirms that the train shed that we see in the above photo was for the Grand Central Terminal. And because it includes the Pennsy freight house, I could confirm the streets as Taylor looking at Polk.

B&O C&O Grand Central, Chicago Terminal 1890-1971. posted via Dennis DeBruler

[Taylor Street is at the bottom and Polk Street is the next one upstream.]

We are look West because that is the Marshal Field River Warehouse on the right.

DN-0056536, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum via BridgeHunter

ForgottenChicago
The first swing bridge was built in 1869. That one was destroyed by the 1871 fire so a second swing bridge was built in 1872. The trunnion bridge was built in 1910, and it was designed by Joseph Strauss. The Marshall Field River Warehouse was built in 1904.The postal service acquired the warehouse in 1974 and removed it 20 years later to make room for their new post office.

Chicagology

King Iron Bridge Co., 1874 Catalog via Chicagology
The 1872 bridge was a tubular wrought iron swing bridge.

1913 West Ferry Street Bridge over Black Rock Canal in Buffalo, NY

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

The lower chord bends downward, but the upper chord stays straight.

Street View, Aug 2017

You can also see that deck bend in this portal view.

Street View, Aug 2017

The canal does get some use. The are 12 other views, and the bridge is closed in all of them.

Street View, Aug 2025

1922 via BridgeHunter
The bridge is 225' (69m) long. Of note is the vertical clearance is only 9.5' (3m). That explains the structure on the island side to wreck trucks that are too tall before they start taking out structural members of the span. I presume the counterweight protects the land side.

It appears that the clearance is even worse than what Bridge Hunter has specified because the sign reads 8'-3" (2.5m).

Street View, Apr 2021

Antonio Medina posted

The Ferry Street Bridge was constructed across the Black Rock Canal, in Buffalo, New York, in 1913.

Ferry Street Bridge crosses the Black Rock Canal in Buffalo, NY. May 2026

The bridge is a bascule bridge, a kind of lift bridge, built by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company, and is considered a rare and historic design. 

The bridge underwent a rebuild from 2014 to 2016. The rebuild cost $8 million.

Mitch Szczur-Benz posted

Year ago I got this photo from my grandparents house. Unfortunately neither are around to ask questions. 

I was hoping to place a year on it. Looks to be the west ferry drawer bridge to unity island. 

Thanks for the help!

Stan Jennings: Double track rails still

[There are several comments about the toll booths. One direction was retired before the other. But no one provided retirement dates.]

Jesse Sobocinski: My guess it was taken some time in the early 1960's. The sewage treatment plant on Unity Island does not have all the structures that it has today.

Joseph Rennie posted
Seneca Chief headed for New York City taken at the foot of Ferry Street today [Sep 24, 2025].

1905(Page Design!)+1933 3rd Street (Lefty O'Doul) Bridges over China Basin in San Francisco, CA

1905: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1933:  (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Boat View, Nov 2014

1905 Page Design Bridge

BridgeHunter_1905
"A bascule bridge is a Page type designed by John W Page he worked with Shnable and Strauss on Trunnion bascule bridges, few of the types were constructed."

The Page design was indeed rare. Because the Monon Bridge was illegally scrapped, the GM&O Bridge is the only one left in the USA.

BridgeHunter_1905 and Bridges Now and Then posted
Looking south at San Francisco's Third Street Bridge, September 17, 1921. (Horace Chaffee, photographer/SF Department of Public Works)
Bridges Now and Then posted again
San Francisco's Third Street Bridge, 1921. (Open SF History)

Jas E milner comme nted on BN&T's second post
SP crossed Mission Creek just east of 7th Street (as CalTrain still does. It terminated at 3rd Street and, except for some pier spurs, it didn't cross 3rd Street. It connected to the State Belt via King Street. The Santa Fe freight ferry from Richmond terminated at the mouth of Mission Creek on the south side of China Basin and had an extensive yard well past Mission Rock. The Western Pacific also had a ferry slip and large yard, again east of 3rd Street. Santa Fe would have operated that bridge in order to connect to the State Belt at King Street. See map.

1938 Straus Heel Trunnion Bridge

Street View, Mar 2025

lll

Bridges Now and Then posted
San Francisco's Third Street Bridge, May 6, 1933. (OpenSFHistory)

Kenneth Dotson commented on the above post
Working great for 92 years and counting. Not even affected by the '89 quake.

Kenneth Dotson commented on the above post

2018 Photo by Geoff Hubbs from AT&T Park via BridgeHunter_1933

HistoricBridges
"This particular example is unusual because it has a roadway that not only occupies the space between truss lines, but also has a roadway that is cantilevered out from the western truss line."

sfpublicworks

When I saw the Santa Fe sign, I checked out the railroad activity in this area. SP was on the northwest side, and Santa Fe was on the southeast side.

1950/50 San Francisco North @ 24,000

But when this bridge was built, it did accommodate steam locomotives. Note that the cantilevered road was added later.

 BridgeHunter_1933, Credit San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library
Bridge opening May 12, 1933

Maureen Price commented on a post
Lefty O'Doul 3rd Street Bridge SF