Grand Rapids Swing Bridge

Grand Rapids Swing Bridge
Grand Rapids Swing Bridge
	turntable of the bridge
Coordinates	42°57′29″N 85°40′50″W / 42.95806°N 85.68056°W
Carries	Amtrak, CSX
Crosses	Grand River
Locale	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Other name(s)	Pere Marquette/C&O/CSX Railroad Bridge
Preceded by	Chicago and West Michigan Railroad Bridge 1882
Characteristics
Design	swing Pratt truss
Material	Steel
Width	30 feet
No. of spans	4
Clearance above	19.2 feet at low water, closed
History
Constructed by	American Bridge Company
Construction start	1901/1902/1908/1922
Construction end	1901/1903/1908/1922
Location

The Grand Rapids Swing Bridge is a four span Pratt truss railroad swing bridge in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was built in 1902 for the Pere Marquette Railroad as a swing bridge to allow steamboats to pass up the Grand River, but this river traffic was discontinued in 1907.^[1] The turntable is rusted shut and currently inoperable.^[2] Originally it was built as a double track bridge, but one set of tracks has been removed. The bridge itself is still in use, and carries an Amtrak train which runs from the Amtrak station just east of the bridge, as well as CSX freight trains. In crossing the Grand River, it touches the south end of a small island.

References

^ "Grand Rapids Swing Bridge". Historic Bridges. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
^ Bajema, Carl. "Grand Rapids Railroad Bridges Spanning the Grand River". Archived from the original on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

[1] "Grand Rapids Swing Bridge". Historic Bridges. Retrieved 30 May 2010.

[2] Bajema, Carl. "Grand Rapids Railroad Bridges Spanning the Grand River". Archived from the original on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

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