Structure 16045800000000 · Cook County, IL

Congress Parkway over Franklin St&wacker

Carries Congress Parkway over Franklin St&wacker, East Of Chicago Riv.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Deck at 6 of 9.

How ratings work
Decksets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructure7/9 · Good
Substructure7/9 · Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT327 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 7/9Substructure 7/9

327 ft end to end, longest span 83 ft: about 5 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 multi-beam bridge.

Built1954rebuilt 2011
Length327.4 ft99.8 m
Daily traffic76,900counted 2024
Last inspectedOctober 2024every 24 months

Location

StateIllinois
CountyCook
LocationEast Of Chicago Riv
CarriesCongress Parkway
CrossesFranklin St&wacker
Coordinates41.87555, -87.63584

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel Continuous
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length327.4 ft (99.8 m)
Max Span83.3 ft (25.4 m)
Deck Width102.4 ft (31.2 m)
Deck Area3113.8 sq m
Main Spans4
Year Built1954 (reconstructed 2011)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic76,900 (2024)
Truck Traffic2%
Lanes On Bridge7
Lanes Under Bridge4

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionOctober 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour CriticalNot applicable
Structure Number016045800000000

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.

Nearby Bridges