Kinzie Street railroad bridge

The Chicago and North Western Railway originally planned for two bridges side-by-side that could carry four railroad tracks into the Wells Street Station.

[9] However, by the time that the first bridge opened on September 19, 1908 an alternative scheme was already underway that led to the closure of Wells Street Station and its replacement with a new terminal on the west bank of the river.

[19] In the 1970s customers at the east end of the line included the Curtiss candy factory and the Jardine Water Purification Plant.

[4] Service to the Tribune Tower also ended in the 1980s,[4] and by the 1990s traffic along the remaining section of the spur served only one customer, the Chicago Sun-Times, with only one train per day.

[20] The newspaper moved their printing plant out of downtown Chicago in early 2001 leaving no traffic across the bridge and it has since been permanently raised in the open position.

[22] Tests were conducted in 1953 to see if the spur could be used as a part of a commuter line with stops at Merchandise Mart, State Street, and Michigan Avenue, but the plan was dropped in 1954 for financial reasons.

[4] In the 1970s architect Harry Weese suggested a light rail line along the spur to connect Chicago's downtown stations with the River North neighborhoods.

[4] In 2008 the City of Chicago Department of Transportation commissioned an alternatives analysis to look at a proposal to create a transit link from Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center to Michigan Avenue using the Union Pacific train tunnel running under the Apparel Center, the Merchandise Mart and other buildings east toward North Michigan Avenue.

The proposed Carroll Avenue Transitway would include the retrofitting of Kinzie Street railroad bridge to carry buses or trams.

Night-time scene showing brightly-lit skyscrapers reflecting in the Chicago River
Night view looking north from Lake Street bridge showing Wolf Point and Kinzie Street railroad bridge. Among the buildings and structures shown are (left to right) Left Bank at K Station (300 North Canal), 333 North Canal , Kinzie Street railroad bridge, 350 North Orleans , Merchandise Mart , 300 North LaSalle , Franklin Street Bridge and part of 333 Wacker Drive .
Railroad bridge in 1865.
19th century black and white lithograph print showing a river lined with industrial buildings and railroads
Bird's-eye view of Wolf Point viewed from the east as it appeared in 1893. The 1879–1898 swing bridge is visible in the top right of the drawing.
Black and white drawing showing a plan of the Chicago River and bridges
1897 plan of the North Branch of the Chicago River showing the close proximity of the three bridges at Kinzie Street, and the obstruction that they created in the river
Drawing of the Kinzie Sreet bridge showing three stages of the opening the bridge
Schematic of Kinzie Street railroad bridge