2 days ago
- Chicago has many movable bridges that open in sequence each spring and fall.
- The author and a friend chased 27 bridges as they opened and closed in April 2011.
- Most bridges are bascule type, using counterweights to move thousands of tons with little effort.
- Many of these bridges are over a hundred years old and operate like a mechanical ballet.
- A notable exception is the Amtrak rail bridge with a lift design and slanted appearance.
- In 1992, the Michigan Avenue Bridge accidentally became a catapult, hurling equipment.
- The author went inside a bridge as it opened and visited a control tower.
- The experience is described as both humbling and awesome.
- The author's favorite bridge is the Kinzie Street railroad bridge, left permanently open since 2000.