The Keokuk-Hamilton bridge is a steel girder, 4-lane bridge from

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

Hamilton, Illinois Hamilton is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census, a decline from 3,029 in 2000. The city is located directly across the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa. Hamilton is the largest city in ...

. It carries U.S. Route 136 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 ...

. It also has fully fenced off pedestrian walkway. The Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge was built in 1985, taking over automobile traffic from the

Keokuk Rail Bridge The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk Municipal Bridge, is a double-deck, single-track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississip ...

(though the latter bridge still carries rail traffic). During the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...

, the rising Mississippi temporarily made the Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge inaccessible from the Illinois side of the river; later, gravel was layered over the threatened section of U.S. 136 to raise its level and keep the road and bridge accessible for the remaining flood period. More recently, during the 2008 Midwest floods, the Illinois access was again threatened, but this time gravel was applied and the road level raised before it was rendered completely impassable; only temporary closings were required to allow road workers to complete the job. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and WL Miller Co., a large concrete, quarry and asphalt company, put over 26,000 tons of rock on the eastbound lanes. The bridge approach was lifted about 4–6 feet in some areas. During the cleanup, some of the fairly new road was damaged, and IDOT is considering repaving the eastbound lanes from the bridge to Pats Pit Stop. During the Mississippi River Floods of 2019, the bridge was once again closed.

References

* Weeks, John. "US-136 Bridge, Keokuk, IA"
http://www.johnweeks.com/upper_mississippi/pagesB/umissB12.html
Retrieved January 18, 2006.

External links

Bridges over the Mississippi River Road bridges in Illinois Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System U.S. Route 136 Bridges completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Keokuk, Iowa Buildings and structures in Hancock County, Illinois Bridges in Lee County, Iowa Road bridges in Iowa Steel bridges in the United States Girder bridges in the United States 1985 establishments in Iowa 1985 establishments in Illinois Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States {{Iowa-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References

External links