Route 66 Drawbridge

Cross the Chicago River's South Branch using the Original Route 66 Bridge that carried Route 66, built in 1927 and rehabilitated in 1996, it is a Double Trunnion Bascule Deck Truss (Status: Open to traffic).

The Chicago River runs through Chicago, including its central downtown district. Over the centuries it evolved into a system of rivers and canals (now 156 miles or 251 km long).

It's flow was reversed and now instead of discharging into Lake Michigan, it flows westwards into the Mississippi River through the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers.

The first bridge across it was built in 1832, and it peaked at 52 bridges in the 20th century. Now 38 remain, all of them different types of movable bridges.

One block past the river, to your left is

Chicago's Union Station, the railway depot. Ho inside to take a peek at its Beaux-Arts style facades with Corinthian columns, its lavish bronze lamps and the vast Hall.

Taken from www theroute-66.com