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Remembering the Shippingsport Bridge 25 years later in La Salle · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Remembering the Shippingsport Bridge twenty five years later in LaSalle.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Scott Anderson. This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Author Charles
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  Speaker 1: Duffy once wrote, without bridges, we'd be stuck where we are.
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  Speaker 1: A bridge is a connection to other places and other people,
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  Speaker 1: and when you come back, a bridge brings you home.
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  Speaker 1: Those words capture the memories of the Route three point
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  Speaker 1: fifty one Shippingsport Bridge, a structure that served generations of
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  Speaker 1: Illinois Valley residents. This summer marks twenty five years since
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  Speaker 1: the last vehicle crossed the historic lift bridge in LaSalle.
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  Speaker 1: I was fortunate enough to experience one of its final
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  Speaker 1: days of operation. My grandfather Chester Wasslevski of lasal new
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  Speaker 1: bridge tender Roy Wussilevski no relation, who invited our family
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  Speaker 1: for a private tour a week before the bridge was decommissioned.
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  Speaker 1: Chester's father, Felix Wasslevsky, was a bridge tender on the
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  Speaker 1: original swing bridge on Route one seventy eight that expanded
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  Speaker 1: over the Illinois River in Utica. He also owned and
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  Speaker 1: operated Wasslevski's Tavern in LaSalle. As we stood inside the
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  Speaker 1: wheelhouse overlooking the Illinois River. A barge approached from downstream.
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  Speaker 1: Moments later, we witnessed what was a famafiliar site for motorists,
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  Speaker 1: but a fascinating spectacle for visitors. The massive bridge slowly
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  Speaker 1: rose into the air, accompanied by the loud hum vibration
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  Speaker 1: and clanking sounds that echoed through the steel structure as
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  Speaker 1: the barge passed beneath. Motorists in the Illinois Valley during
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  Speaker 1: that era, remember those moments. For commuters heading into lasal
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  Speaker 1: or oglesby the bridge could be both a marvel and
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  Speaker 1: a frustration. Before cell phone's, motorists often found themselves waiting
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  Speaker 1: while barge traffic took priority. Being caught by the bridge
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  Speaker 1: was a part of daily life and was an excuse
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  Speaker 1: for being late for many commuters. The Shipping Sport Bridge
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  Speaker 1: st which two hundred feet across the Illinois River and
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  Speaker 1: featured a waddle and Harrington vertical lift span, a design
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  Speaker 1: that made it one of the area's most recognizable landmarks.
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  Speaker 1: The original construction cost approximately five hundred thousand dollars. The
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  Speaker 1: bridge officially opened to traffic on November seventh, nineteen twenty nine.
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  Speaker 1: Marshall van der Wingeard of Oglesby was the first person
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  Speaker 1: to cross the bridge, using a wagon and team of
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  Speaker 1: horses belonging to the Marinchick family. After serving the community
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  Speaker 1: for more than seventy years, the bridge's final chapter began
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  Speaker 1: on August seventeen, two thousand and one, when it's officially
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  Speaker 1: closed to traffic. On that day, a closing ceremcenoni was held,
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  Speaker 1: and the van Derwingeard and Marinchick families were the last
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  Speaker 1: to cross the bridge. The current bridge took its place,
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  Speaker 1: opening to traffic on October thirtieth, two thousand and three.
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  Speaker 1: A dramatic photograph captured by local photographer and author Steve
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  Speaker 1: Stout featured a truck close to plunging into the icy
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  Speaker 1: Illinois River below. The incident happened when a Sandberg trucking
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  Speaker 1: semi trailer crashed into the partially raised Shipping Port Bridge.
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  Speaker 1: The impact sheared off the top of the cab and trailer,
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  Speaker 1: spilling about eight hundred bushels of corn, and left the
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  Speaker 1: truck dangling roughly twenty feet above the river, suspended by
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  Speaker 1: its rear axle beneath a concrete counterweight. Witnesses said the
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  Speaker 1: driver claimed his brakes failed, and that he swerved to
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  Speaker 1: avoid several vehicles before jumping from the truck moments before impact.
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  Speaker 1: The image gained national attention after being published in the
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  Speaker 1: Chicago Tribune and tow Line magazine. Today, hundreds of vehicles
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  Speaker 1: crossed the modern Route three hundred and fifty one bridge
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  Speaker 1: each day. Yet for those who remember the original Shipping
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  Speaker 1: Sport Bridge, a trip across the Illinois River can bring
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  Speaker 1: back memories of a different era, one marked by waiting
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  Speaker 1: for barges while listening to steel machinery at work, and
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  Speaker 1: accommodating river traffic. The old bridge may be gone, but
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  Speaker 1: its legacy continues to span generations.