This beautiful and historic structure crosses the Illinois River in downtown Ottawa, just downstream of State Street.
When the bridge originally opened in 1898, it consisted of several wooden trestle spans, approaching four identical truss spans.
Each truss was an 8 Panel, Pin Connected Pratt Through Truss with a beam style portal bracing. In addition, a deck girder span and two more trestle spans approach from the north.
The entire bridge sat on Asher Sandstone piers, with the exception of the trestle spans.
However, due to the new navigation rules of the Illinois River, a lift span was required to be constructed.
This lift span was added in 1933 by Waddell and Harrington with steel manufactured by McClintic-Marshall, and incorporated the second truss span. It reused the entire span. The towers for it were incorporated into the existing historic trusses.
This bridge was also documented by the Historic American Engineering Record, which writes:
"This multi-span, truss railroad bridge was erected in 1898 by the prominent bridge-manufacturing firm of King Bridge Company. A later reconstruction (1932) included a Waddell and Harrington Engineers vertical lift."
Presently, the bridge is oftentimes in raised position. The trusses appear to be in good condition, and the bridge retains a high level of historic integrity.
The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the large scale design and the highly unusual adaption of a stationary span into a movable span.
The photo above is an overview from the south bank. Below, the HAER photos can be viewed. Unfortunately, the Illinois Railway last used this bridge in the fall of 2020, and the future of this bridge is in significant doubt.
| Upstream | Seneca Lift Bridge |
| Downstream | La Salle Rail Bridge |
