Robert Parker Coffin Rd. over Buffalo Cr., Long Grove, Illinois. County/parish: Lake.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places June 11, 2018. NRIS 100001672.
The Robert Parker Coffin Bridge (formerly known as the Buffalo Creek Bridge) is a Pratt pony truss bridge that spans Buffalo Creek in Long Grove, Illinois, United States. Standing 41 feet (12 m) long, it was built in 1906 by the Joliet Bridge and Iron Company. It is one of the few remaining bridges of its kind in the Chicago area and the state of Illinois, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
In 1972, the town added a low-hanging decorative wooden covering in an effort to deter large commercial vehicles; with a clearance height of 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m), the covering has been frequently struck by trucks, buses, and other vehicles, particularly in recent years. A 2018 collision closed the span for months as the covering was reconstructed and reinforced with steel, and the dozens of strikes it has sustained since then have only done minor damage to the structure. The height of the bridge has also been reduced to 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m).
(read more...)