Michigan Ave Bridge
Back to Michigan Ave Bridge
Back to Michigan Ave Bridge
Canal connections
Despite what its name suggests, the Chicago River is actually a system of rivers and canals that opened commercial shipping between the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. Beginning in the mid-1800s, canals helped transform Chicago into a national shipping and transportation hub. The first was the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which ran 96 miles to connect the Chicago and Mississippi rivers for the first time.
The city later built a second waterway, this time with the goal of reversing the flow of the Chicago River away from Lake Michigan. After it was finished in 1900, commercial shipping relocated to the new Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Its wider banks and shorter length made it easier for boats to navigate and made the Illinois and Michigan Canal unnecessary. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is now the only link between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Its 28 miles is controlled by federal and local organizations in part to prevent the spread of invasive species into the Great Lakes and ensure that the amount of water the canal pulls from Lake Michigan stays below federal limits.
The city later built a second waterway, this time with the goal of reversing the flow of the Chicago River away from Lake Michigan. After it was finished in 1900, commercial shipping relocated to the new Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Its wider banks and shorter length made it easier for boats to navigate and made the Illinois and Michigan Canal unnecessary. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is now the only link between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Its 28 miles is controlled by federal and local organizations in part to prevent the spread of invasive species into the Great Lakes and ensure that the amount of water the canal pulls from Lake Michigan stays below federal limits.
