Structure 16270400000000 · Cook County, IL

I- 55 Stevenson over Des Plaines River

Carries I- 55 Stevenson over Des Plaines River, 0.9 M E Of US 45.

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
Channelnot part of overall8/9 · Very Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT703 FT OVERALL100 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 7/9Substructure 7/9

703 ft end to end, longest span 173 ft: about 2.0 football fields. 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.

Built2000rebuilt 2002
Length702.8 ft214.2 m
Daily traffic142,000counted 2024
Last inspectedJune 2023every 24 months

Location

StateIllinois
CountyCook
Location0.9 M E Of US 45
CarriesI- 55 Stevenson
CrossesDes Plaines River
Coordinates41.76358, -87.85369

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel Continuous
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length702.8 ft (214.2 m)
Max Span172.9 ft (52.7 m)
Deck Width138.8 ft (42.3 m)
Deck Area9060.7 sq m
Main Spans5
Year Built2000 (reconstructed 2002)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic142,000 (2024)
Truck Traffic10%
Lanes On Bridge6
Lanes Under Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionJune 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number016270400000000

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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