The Great River Bridge is an asymmetrical, one-tower cable-stayed bridge over the Mississippi River. It carries U.S. Highway 34 from Burlington, Iowa to the small town of Gulf Port, Illinois.
Great River Bridge | |
|---|---|
| File:Burlington-riverfront-night.jpg | |
| Coordinates | 40°48′43″N 91°05′44″W / 40.8119°N 91.0956°W |
| Carries | 5 lanes of US 34 |
| Crosses | Mississippi River |
| Locale | Burlington, Iowa and Gulf Port, Illinois |
| Maintained by | Iowa Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Total length | 379.48 meters (1,245 feet) |
| Width | 8.23 meters (27 feet) |
| Longest span | 201.17 meters (660 feet) |
| Clearance below | 18.29 meters (60 feet) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Location | |
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Construction began in 1989, but work on the main tower did not begin until April 1990. The main tower is 370 feet (113 meters) in height from the top of the tower to the riverbed. During the Great Flood of 1993, construction continued despite record crests on the Mississippi below. The final cost of the bridge was $49 million, about 16 percent over budget.
The Great River Bridge replaced the MacArthur Bridge, an aging two-lane toll steel bridge built in 1917. The new bridge is five lanes wide (two westbound, three eastbound) and provides a safer crossing across the Mississippi River than the old bridge.
References
Fields, Ron. "Bridge spans a decade." The Hawk Eye Newspaper, http://www.edkraemer.com/news/news_detail.asp?id=115 via Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc. August 22, 2004. Retrieved January 14, 2006.
External links
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