0
  • DE
  • EN
  • FR
  • International Database and Gallery of Structures

Advertisement

General Information

Other name(s): Great River Bridge
Beginning of works: 1989
Completion: 4 October 1993
Status: in use

Project Type

Location

Location: , , ,
, , ,
Address: U.S. Route 34
Crosses:
  • Mississippi River
Coordinates: 40° 48' 41.41" N    91° 5' 39.93" W
Show coordinates on a map

Technical Information

Dimensions

main span 201 m
total length 853 m
pylon pylon height 114 m

Excerpt from Wikipedia

The Great River Bridge is an asymmetrical, single tower cable-stayed bridge over the Mississippi River. It carries U.S. Route 34 from Burlington, Iowa to the town of Gulf Port, Illinois.

History

Construction began in 1989, but work on the main tower did not begin until April 1990. The main tower is 370 feet (113 m) 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, cantilevered, steel toll bridge built in 1917. At the time, the bridge was in desperate need of repair, or replacement, as it swayed ominously when two semis crossed the bridge at the same time on the two lanes of traffic. After the bridge was dismantled, the engineers discovered that the supports weren't sunk into the bedrock far enough, causing undermining of the piers. The new bridge is five lanes wide (two westbound, three eastbound), with piers sunk over 90 feet into bedrock, and provides a safer crossing across the Mississippi River than the old bridge.

Events

In the early morning of May 1, 2008, five barges broke loose of their moorings, with two of those striking the eastern most pylon of the bridge on the Henderson County, Illinois side of the river. The bridge was closed while it could be inspected by the Iowa Department of Transportation for damage and repairs. A third barge continued downstream, striking the BNSF Railroad owned Burlington Rail Bridge. The highway bridge was reopened the following day.

On June 17, 2008, the bridge was closed due to flooding.

Every year on the second Saturday of May the Great River Bridge Race is run. The 6-mile (9.7 km) race starts at the Iowa on ramp and runs the first mile in Iowa including running up Snake Alley. It then runs across the bridge through Illinois on U.S. Route 34 and finishes on Front St. In front of the Port of Burlington.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Great River Bridge" and modified on 23 July 2019 under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.

 

Participants

Relevant Web Sites

Relevant Publications

  • About this
    data sheet
  • Structure-ID
    20004184
  • Published on:
    05/07/2002
  • Last updated on:
    05/02/2016
Structurae cooperates with
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE)
e-mosty Magazine
e-BrIM Magazine