The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a bridge over 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 ...

that connects

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

and

East Dubuque, Illinois East Dubuque is a city in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,505 at the 2020 census, down from 1,704 in 2010. East Dubuque is located alongside the Mississippi River. Across the river is the city of Dubuque, Iowa. The ...

. The bridge is part of

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

(US 20). It is one of two automobile bridges over the Mississippi in the area (the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge north links Dubuque with

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

), and is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Description

The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a light grey color. The bridge spans and is 28 feet wide. The longest

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

is 845 feet.

History

For a number of years, people living in the area wanted a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

to replace the old bridge, which was called either the "High Bridge" or the "Wagon Bridge." However, economic conditions at the time made it difficult to get the financing together to build a new bridge. During World War II, a new bridge became even more important as it would help facilitate military transportation. In 1942, the first parts of the bridge were begun. In 1943, the bridge was completed. It was painted gray to help camouflage the bridge in case of enemy attack. Because the bridge was financed with bonds, it initially operated as a toll bridge. Money from the tolls was used to repay the debts. large traffic paid the debts 11 years ahead a schedule and the bridge was toll free by 1954. In the early 1990s, the bridge underwent an extensive renovation. The deck was replaced, and a new walkway was installed. For many years, the bridge was dark green; however, in more recent times it again has been painted the current light gray color. Prior to the construction of the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge, the Julien Dubuque Bridge also carried US 61 and US 151. This resulted in both of these highways passing a short distance through

Jo Daviess County, Illinois Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 22,678. Its county seat is Galena. Jo Daviess County is part of the Tri-State Area and is located near ...

, between Dubuque and Wisconsin. Now both highways cross the Mississippi on the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge, which directly connects Wisconsin and Iowa, and neither US 61 nor US 151 passes through Illinois. On June 9, 2008, the bridge was struck by a number of runaway

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s shortly after 8 p.m. Fifteen barges—which were loaded with corn,

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...

s, and iron ore—struck one of the pillars on the eastern side of the main channel. Unsure of whether the bridge was stable, authorities temporarily closed it until an inspection could be performed. Traffic was rerouted on to the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge a few miles to the north.

References

{{NRHP in Dubuque, Iowa Through arch bridges in the United States Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Bridges completed in 1943 Bridges over the Mississippi River Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Jo Daviess County, Illinois Buildings and structures in Dubuque, Iowa Culture of Dubuque, Iowa Transportation in Dubuque, Iowa U.S. Route 20 Continuous truss bridges in the United States Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Dubuque, Iowa Transportation buildings and structures in Jo Daviess County, Illinois Great River Road Former toll bridges in Illinois Former toll bridges in Iowa Bridges in Dubuque County, Iowa Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States

Description

History

See also

References