North Avenue Bridge Reconstruction Over Chicago River

This $21.4 million project involved the removal of an inoperable bascule bridge carrying North Avenue over the Chicago River and constructing a wider, fixed span structure at the same location. The new bridge has a 252-ft main span and two 84-ft back spans. A hybrid structural system was selected for the new structure in order to meet various geometric and clearance constraints, to provide for future utilization of the river banks adjacent to the structure, and to provide for an aesthetic structure. The hybrid structural system consists of a combination of a self-anchored suspension bridge and cable-stayed bridge. The design will serve as a good opportunity to study the behavior of such a unique structural system and provide valuable knowledge for its future applications in long span bridges. The construction of this bridge was completed in December 2007.