Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 80, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1909 — Monon’s Bascule Bridge to Be Operated By Electricity. [ARTICLE]

Monon’s Bascule Bridge to Be Operated By Electricity.

A. S. Kent, the division engineer of the Monon railroad, was in Hammond yesterday making,an inspection of the new $75,000 bascule bridge, which is being built over the Calumet river in Hammond. Mr. Kent stated that the new bridge is in reality only half a The 100-foot span crosses from the north bank of the river to the center pier, and when the requirements of navigation are great enough, there will be an additional span from the' south bank to the center pier. The new bridge is to be raised and lowered by electric power. The bridge is so nicely counter-balanced that it requires only a little power to raise or lower it. Four men working on the emergency lift can raise the bridge. The railroad secures its power from the South Shore line. The Monon contemplates several other improvements in the near futture. A slight curve in the track between Plummer avenue and the bridge will be removed as soon as the new bridge is opened to traflc. The new bridge will be opened to traffic in two weeks, according to recent calculations, and as soon as this is accomplished the old decrepit bridge, which has served the company for so many years, will be torn out. The new Monon bridge has been built by the American Bridge works, and is one of the finest bascule bridges in the country. The remarkable thing about the project is the fact that the railroad could have spent $75,000 in the heart of Hammond without the people hardly realizing what was done. —Hammond Times.