July 10, 1925, looking west, a southbound vehicle crosses the Halsted Street bridge over the Little Calumet River. The large circular center pier was built so the bridge could be converted to a swing bridge. Chicago requested that both openings on either side of the pier be dredged. (MWRD photo 11926)

July 10, 1925. Northbound Illinois Central Railroad steam locomotive 1600 pushes a gondola and pulls a crane across the partially constructed new high-level bridge over the Little Calumet River. Looking west, a temporary low-level service bridge is used to facilitate construction of the new bridge. (MWRD photo 11926)

July 10, 1925, looking west at the Indiana Avenue bridge. This center pier swing bridge is the farthest upstream operating bridge on the Little Calumet River. (MWRD photo 11926)

July 10, 1925 Looking east across the bow of a boat, the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad bridge appears. Train traffic was more frequent than boat traffic and the bridge tender spent many idle hours in the control building at left. (MWRD photo 11926)

July 10, 1925, looking east. Chicago has recently completed a modern double-leaf bascule bridge over the Grand Calumet River on Burnham Avenue. It was expected that commercial navigation would use the Grand Calumet River to reach the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal, but more traffic preferred to use the Calumet River and cross Lake Michigan (MWRD photo 11926)

July 10, 1925. The confluence of three rivers is shown east of Torrence Avenue, which is to the right out of the view. Looking southeast from the Calumet River, the Grand Calumet flows into the background while the Little Calumet River flows in from the right. 12 years later, this confluence was moved west of Torrence when the Calumet River was straightened south of 130th Street. (MWRD photo 11926)

July 10, 1925. A commuter car on the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend Railroad crosses the Calumet River. The center pier swing bridge with a 90-foot horizontal opening was the first bridge upstream of the entrance channel to Lake Calumet. In the next decade, Chicago extended 130th Street and constructed a longer span bridge immediately north of the railroad bridge. (MWRD photo 11926)

The District’s contractor, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, began dredging the Little Calumet River late in 1925. By late 1927, over seven miles, from Lake Calumet to the east end of the Calumet-Sag Channel were completed. Using a large hydraulic dredge, shown on March 4, 1926, all spoil was placed on low-lying land adjoining the channel. (MWRD photo 12514)