Wednesday, September 1, 2021

The Fort Street Bridge

 The new Fort Street Bridge replaced the old Fort Street Bridge.  The old Fort Street was a deck truss bascule bridge similar to the Dix Avenue Bridge.  It was also similar to many of the Bridge built in Chicago (in fact, it had the same builders).  It was built in 1920.  The bridge was the site of the Ford Hunger March in 1932.

However, years of neglect forced the Michigan Department of Transportation to build a new bridge here.  It is a single leaf bascule bridge and is the heaviest in the world.  It also has the second largest area in the world.
The old bridge was demolished in 2013 and construction of this one started shortly after.  This was a sore spot for many of the residents in the area because this one was under construction and then the Jefferson Avenue Bridge was hit.  That left one working (barely) bridge in this area.  I think they are going to have to repair that one soon.  Anyway, it is a cool looking bridge.


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