The St. Charles Air Line Bridge is a Strauss Trunnion bascule bridge which spans the Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois.
Built as part of the St. Charles Air Line Railroad by the American Bridge Company in 1919, the bridge originally had a span of . This bridge held the world record for longest bascule-type span until 1930, when it was shortened to during a relocation as a result of straightening the river channel. The chief design engineer of the original bridge was Leonard O. Hopkins.
History The bridge's record-setting leaf was motivated primarily by federal clear-channel requirements, and the design included provisions for a one-time move to a straighter South Branch channel. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 12, 2007.
Photo gallery
See also The adjacent B&OCT Bascule Bridge, with more information about the history of both bridges List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois
Further reading
External links
Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere St. Charles Air Line Bridge, Spanning South Branch of Chicago River, north of Sixteenth Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL Photos from Survey HAER IL-157 Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress