Halsted Street Bridge

Hillsdale fabricated, preassembled, and shipped the 156-foot-long tied-arch bridge to replace the 103-year-old Halsted Street bascule bridge over the Chicago River North Branch Canal. The bridge features a 156-foot-long, 180-foot-wide steel tied arch main span flanked by two 36-foot precast concrete arch approach spans. The new bridge deck is 22 feet wider than the old bridge and carries two additional lanes of northbound and southbound traffic. The bridge also provides bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks on each side and better accommodates boat traffic through an expanded 12-foot, 4-inch vertical waterway clearance.

After fabricating the structural steel for the new bridge’s arch ribs, lateral struts and floor system, Hillsdale used its own heavy equipment and labor to preassemble the structure in a large lot behind the fabrication facility. The preassembly and specification fit-up check were performed to ensure that the structural components were correctly fabricated before being permanently installed. It also allowed for measurements to be taken for the fabrication of cables that hang from the arch ribs and support the bridge’s floor system and deck. Hillsdale also prefabricated and installed intricate architectural lighting shrouds that house an aesthetic lighting system. Large components of the bridge were then disassembled and barge-shipped to their destination where they were erected on the Chicago River.