When his ideas were rejected, he left the firm and started his own firm, the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company of Chicago, where he revolutionized the design of bascule bridges.
Když jeho návrhy byly zamítnuty opustil firmu a založil v Chicagu svoji vlastní firmu Strauss Bascule Bridge Company, kde způsobil revoluci v konstrukci sklápěcích mostů.