Structure 16601700000000 · Cook County, IL

18th ST over S Br Chicago River

Carries 18th ST over S Br Chicago River, 301 W 18th ST.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Superstructure and Substructure at 5 of 9.

How ratings work
Deck6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Substructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Channelnot part of overall7/9 · Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT241 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 5/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 5/9 · sets the rating

241 ft end to end: about 3 semi-trucks nose to tail. Lengths and the semi-truck on the deck are drawn to the same scale. Each part is colored by its latest inspection rating. The inventory records lengths but not heights or the layout of the shorter spans, so those are drawn as typical for a bascule bridge (drawn closed).

Built1967rebuilt 2014
Length241.5 ft73.6 m
Daily traffic5,650counted 2022
Last inspectedAugust 2024every 24 months

Location

StateIllinois
CountyCook
Location301 W 18th ST
Carries18th ST
CrossesS Br Chicago River
Coordinates41.85772, -87.63565

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignMovable - Bascule
Total Length241.5 ft (73.6 m)
Max Span181.4 ft (55.3 m)
Deck Width74.1 ft (22.6 m)
Deck Area1663.4 sq m
Main Spans1
Year Built1967 (reconstructed 2014)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic5,650 (2022)
Truck Traffic6%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionAugust 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerCity/Municipal Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number016601700000000

How Bridge Ratings Work

Inspectors rate each major part of a bridge (the deck you drive on, the superstructure of beams that holds it up, and the substructure of piers and abutments beneath) on a 0–9 scale. A bridge's overall condition is its lowest of those ratings, so one deteriorated component makes the whole bridge "poor."

0Failed
1Imminent failure
2Critical
3Serious
4Poor
5Fair
6Satisfactory
7Good
8Very good
9Excellent
Good · lowest component 7–9
Fair · lowest component 5–6
Poor · lowest component 0–4

A poor rating is not a closure. It means the bridge is flagged for priority repair or replacement; bridges judged unsafe are closed or posted with weight limits. The waterway (channel) rating is reported, but it does not count toward the overall classification.

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