- 1855: 3 miles completed from Ogden Avenue to the Chicago River by the Chicago, St. Charles and Mississippi Air Line Company
- 1855: CStC&MAL conveyed to the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad Company
- 1864: G&CU consolidated with the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1864: 2 miles completed along Rockwell Street between Ogden Avenue and Kinzie Street by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1898: Track elevation and additional tracks completed jointly with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad between Kinzie Street and Taylor Street
- 1898: Track elevation and additional tracks completed jointly with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad between Kinzie Street and Taylor Street
- 1909-09: Track elevation and additional tracks completed jointly with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad between Western Avenue Street and the Chicago River
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific jointly operates the Rockwell Subdivision from Kinzie Street to Canal Street with BNSF Railway
06/26/21
Located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, this bridge crosses the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), West Congress Parkway, West Van Buren Street and the CTA Blue Line near S. Maplewood Avenue.
The two end spans were built in 1897 as the Chicago & North Western and the parallel Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis raised their tracks through the area. The 1897 configuration consisted of a single span through girder, set onto stone abutments over Van Buren Street and Congress Parkway. These through girders consisted of seven and six tracks respectively, although they now contain four tracks each. One track was removed on the Congress Parkway span and two from the Van Buren Street span prior to 1952.
In 1952, the Eisenhower Expressway was constructed through the area. This addition consists of six spans of deck plate girder, set onto concrete substructures. The 1952 segment filled the gap between the two existing girder spans.
In addition, the bridge consists of a ballasted deck. This deck has protected the bridge since construction, although it largely failed on the through girder spans, due to the sheet metal design. The through girder span decks of the active tracks were rebuilt at an unknown time in the 1990s or 2000s.
The approach girders are typical for early grade separations in Chicago. Many of these bridges were fabricated by Lassig Bridge & Iron Works. The 1950s span is typical for a pre-interstate era grade separation.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to poor condition, with significant deterioration of the unused tracks on the approaches. The 1950s spans are in good condition.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.