Great River Bridge

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Great River Bridge

Carries	4 lanes of US 34
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Burlington, Iowa and Gulf Port, Illinois
Maintained by	Iowa Department of Transportation
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Longest span	660 feet (201 m)
Total length	1,245 feet (379 m)
Width	27 feet (8 m)
Clearance below	60 feet (18 m)
Opening date	October 4, 1993
Coordinates	40°48′43″N, 91°05′44″W

The term Great River Bridge may also refer to the former proposed name of the Charles W. Dean Bridge, a proposed bridge that will carry Interstate 69 from Arkansas to Mississippi.

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 town of Gulf Port, Illinois.

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.

A night view of the bridge.

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.

In the early morning of Thursday, 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 bridge was reopened the following day.