The Keithsburg Bridge was a

vertical lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and sw ...

that carried a single railroad track across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

between

Louisa County, Iowa Louisa County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,837. The county seat is Wapello. Louisa County is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Louisa County was ...

and

Keithsburg, Illinois Keithsburg is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States on the Mississippi River. The population was 609 at the 2010 census, down from 714 in 2000. It was named for Robert Keith, a pioneer settler. Geography Keithsburg is located at (41.1 ...

. The bridge was constructed for the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway in 1909 and traffic across the bridge was discontinued in 1971 by then owner Chicago and North Western, who had purchased the M&StL in 1960. After the line was abandoned, the vertical lift was locked in the up position for several years until the lift portion was accidentally destroyed by fireworks and the ensuing fire on June 21, 1981. The vertical lift section fell into the river blocking barge traffic on the main channel of the Mississippi River for more than a week until it was removed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The USGS aerial photo from March 2000, and satellite mapping views taken since then, show the bridge standing but missing its vertical lift section. This bridge replaced a previous Iowa Central railroad bridge, constructed in 1886 by the Phoenix Bridge Company, that crossed at the same location. As of 2014, the old stone piers from the previous bridge were still standing next to the current bridge.

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Keithsburg Railroad Bridge
- John Weeks Bridges over the Mississippi River Railroad bridges in Illinois Railroad bridges in Iowa Truss bridges in the United States Vertical lift bridges in Illinois Vertical lift bridges in the United States 1909 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures in Louisa County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Mercer County, Illinois 1909 establishments in Iowa Interstate railroad bridges in the United States {{Iowa-bridge-struct-stub

See also

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