Structure 16603000000000 · Cook County, IL

Lake Shore Drive over Main Br Chicago Riv

Carries Lake Shore Drive over Main Br Chicago Riv, 402 N & 520 E.

Overall conditionPoor

Set by its lowest-rated component: Superstructure at 4 of 9.

How ratings work
Deck6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating4/9 · Poor
Substructure5/9 · Fair
Channelnot part of overall8/9 · Very Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT352 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 4/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 5/9

352 ft end to end: 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 bascule bridge (drawn closed).

Built1937rebuilt 1988
Length352.4 ft107.4 m
Daily traffic102,000counted 2024
Last inspectedSeptember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateIllinois
CountyCook
Location402 N & 520 E
CarriesLake Shore Drive
CrossesMain Br Chicago Riv
Coordinates41.88853, -87.61417

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignMovable - Bascule
Total Length352.4 ft (107.4 m)
Max Span264.1 ft (80.5 m)
Deck Width107.3 ft (32.7 m)
Deck Area3512.0 sq m
Main Spans1
Year Built1937 (reconstructed 1988)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic102,000 (2024)
Truck Traffic1%
Lanes On Bridge8

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionSeptember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerCity/Municipal Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number016603000000000

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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