Bernard Street Footbridge

Located at a dead end of Bernard Street on the north side of Chicago, this historic pony truss has been reused at a number of locations throughout the City of Chicago. In 1885, the City of Chicago constructed a viaduct across the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway (LS&MS)/Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway tracks at 61st Street. This viaduct consisted of three 79-foot double intersection Warren pony truss spans, fabricated by the Alden and Lassig Bridge & Iron Works. The 61st Street Viaduct was removed as part of a track elevation project in 1898, and the spans were saved for reuse. In 1899, the three spans were reused to carry Addison Street, Lawrence Avenue and Kedzie Avenue across the North Branch of the Chicago River. The spans were rebuilt upon relocation with new wooden floors and decks. In addition, the spans at Lawrence Avenue and Kedzie Avenue were retrofitted to carry tracks of the Chicago Surface Lines, a streetcar system operating throughout Chicago.

By the early 1920s, the Lawrence Avenue bridge had become too light for traffic, and it was decided to replace the structure. During the replacement process, the truss span was shifted north to a temporary location. After the new bridge was completed, the truss was again stored for reuse. It soon was used as part of a temporary bridge, used in construction of the substructures of the Roosevelt Road bridge over the South Branch of the Chicago River. After completion of the substructures, the bridge was stored for reuse at Roosevelt Road until a suitable location could be found. In 1924, it was decided to reuse the span to carry a sidewalk at Bernard Street across the North Branch Chicago River. Upon relocation, the span was narrowed to 10 feet wide, the floor extensively rebuilt, and installed on new timber pile piers. The span has continued to serve as a sidewalk since. It is unknown what happened to the other two spans.

The bridge at Bernard Street uses a 79-foot riveted double intersection Warren pony truss span, set onto concrete abutments. This design of bridge was commonly used for railroad bridges, particularly during the 1880s and 1890s. While the Rock Island used this design extensively, it is likely that the design was selected by the bridge company. Alden & Lassig constructed numerous examples of these types of spans during the 1880s, primarily for the Chicago & North Western Railway and the Rock Island. Many of the railroad spans were reused in the early 20th Century, particularly as overpasses. However, this span appears to be a rare example of this design used for a roadway bridge. Since the initial construction of the bridge, it has seen a number of rehabilitation. In 1940, the bridge was rebuilt with a new deck, raised and placed onto new concrete abutments. The bridge was again upgraded in 2005. As part of the 2005 upgrades, new handrails were installed, and the bridge was refurbished. As Nathan Holth of Historicbridges.org notes, the bridge has received numerous coats of paint over the years, and several different colors can be found. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being regionally significant, due to the extensive reuse and age of the bridge.