Kinzie Street Bridge

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Kinzie Street Bridge
Kinzie Street bridge 20100731.jpg
Kinzie Street bridge across the north branch of the Chicago River in July 31, 2010
Coordinates 41°53′21″N87°38′22″W / 41.889076°N 87.639371°W / 41.889076; -87.639371
Crosses Chicago River
Named for John Kinzie
Owner City of Chicago
ID number 16602826628
Preceded by Grand Avenue Bridge
Followed by Lake Street Bridge
Characteristics
DesignBascule Pratt through truss
Total length195 feet (59 m)
Width60 feet (18 m)
Longest span136.2 feet (41.5 m)
No. of spans1 main span and 2 approach spans
Load limit48.5 tons
No. of lanes 4
History
DesignerAlexander von Babo, City of Chicago
Constructed byJohn J. Gallery
Construction start23 January 1908
Construction end10 May 1909
Construction cost$218,707.86
Opened1909
Rebuilt1999
Statistics
Daily traffic 6,650 (As of 2014)
Location
Kinzie Street Bridge

The Kinzie Street Bridge is a single-leaf bascule bridge built in 1909 that spans the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. [1] [2]

Contents

Incidents

In April 1992, rehabilitation work on the pilings for the bridge damaged a freight tunnel located under the Chicago River. The tunnel breach eventually led to the Chicago flood, which flooded the Chicago Loop with an estimated 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m3) of water. [3]

In August 2004, a Dave Matthews Band tour bus passing over the bridge dumped 800 pounds of human waste through the open metal grate bridge deck into the Chicago River. The waste landed on an architecture tour cruise boat and passengers passing under the bridge at that time. [4]

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On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) of human waste from the bus's blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto an open-top passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below. The incident became popularly known as the Dave Matthews Band incident or Poopgate.

References

  1. "Kinzie St Bridge". Chicago Loop Bridges. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  2. "Kinzie Street Bridge". Historic Bridges. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  3. "1992 Loop Flood Brings Chaos, Billions In Losses". Chicago: WBBM-TV. April 14, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  4. "On This Day In History, Dave Matthews' Tour Bus Dumped Human Waste On Chicago River Tourists". CBS Chicago . August 8, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2019.