Joliet Connection Railroad Bridge

View historic articles discussing the Joliet track elevation project (digitalized by Google)

Located near downtown Joliet, this curved girder and slab bridge carries a wye track over Washington Street and York Avenue,. As Joliet grew from a small town outside of Chicago to a major manufacturing and railroad hub of the Midwest, railroad traffic through the city increased dramatically. At the turn of the 20th Century, the business district of Joliet was served by four separate railroads, including the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island); the Chicago & Alton Railroad (C&A); the Michigan Central Railroad (MC) and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). Inspired by successful track elevation projects in the City of Chicago, Joliet passed a general ordinance for the elevation of railroads within the business district in January 1906. This ordinance aimed to improve safety, consolidate the railroads and construct a new Union Station, which would be served by all four railroads. Work on the project began in 1907, and the project would be completed in 1912. As part of the work, the Rock Island would be realigned to parallel the MC, and the MC would gain trackage as far west as the Des Plaines River.

The final section of track elevation, including this bridge, was completed in the fall of 1912. This bridge was constructed to provide a connection between all four railroads; with the Rock Island and MC spearheading the construction of the bridge. As a result, both the Rock Island and MC originally each owned 3/8 of the bridge, while the ATSF and C&A each owned 1/8. The bridge consists of a 43-foot, a 35-foot and an 18-foot deck plate girder span over Washington Street; as well as a 27-foot, a 25-foot, three 21-foot, a 20-foot and two 17-foot spans over York Avenue. The entire bridge is set onto concrete abutments and piers, and steel bents support the Washington Street spans. Steel spans were used over Washington Street due to the unusual angle the bridge crosses the roadway at. These spans use a ballast deck, which is set onto a traditionally composed floor. The slab spans use a standard design, and include decorative paneling. The concrete piers consist of concrete columns, connected by arches at the top. This style of pier was commonly used during the early 20th Century, as it provided a decorative element to the bridge. Due to the curvature of the bridge, all spans are skewed to varying degrees. It is believed that American Bridge Company fabricated the superstructure, while the concrete work was completed by the Newkirk & Powers Construction Company. These types of bridge was commonly used for grade separations, as it was durable, easy to construct, cost effective and allowed for greater protection of the public passing underneath. The bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some deterioration noted, particularly near the east end of the structure. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.