Government Bridge
| Government Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 41°31′09″N 90°34′01″W / 41.51917°N 90.56694°WCoordinates: 41°31′09″N 90°34′01″W / 41.51917°N 90.56694°W |
| Carries | 2 lanes of roadway 2 rail lines |
| Crosses | Mississippi River |
| Locale | Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois |
| Maintained by | Federal government of the United States |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | two riveted Pratt trusses five riveted Baltimore trusses one pin-connected Baltimore swing truss |
| Material | steel |
| Total length | 1,608 feet (490 m) |
| Width | 27 feet (8 m) |
| Longest span | 365 feet (111 m) (swing); longest fixed spans 258 feet (79 m) |
| Number of spans | 8 |
| History | |
| Designer | Ralph Modjeski |
| Constructed by | U.S. Army |
| Opened | 1896 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 16,800 |
The Government Bridge, or Arsenal Bridge, spans the Mississippi River connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. It is located near upper Mississippi mile 483, adjacent to Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 15. The current structure, the fourth in a succession at this location, includes a swing section to accommodate traffic navigating the locks. The double tracks of rail above the road level is an unusual feature for a bridge.
The original bridge at the site, finished in 1856, was the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi. The bridge represented a threat to the South, which sought to create a southern rail route to the Pacific, and to Saint Louis, whose steamboats faced competition from Chicago's railroads.
The first bridge, constructed in the 1850s and located around 1,500 feet (460 m) upstream of the present, was the first railroad bridge to ever span the Mississippi River and played prominent roles in the ramp up to the American Civil War and construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
The bridge connected the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad with the newly created Mississippi and Missouri Railroad proposed by Thomas C. Durant as the first railroad in Iowa, linking Davenport and Council Bluffs. Companies operating steamships on the Mississippi opposed the bridge fearing that it would pose a navigation hazard and that it would alter their monopoly on trade.
Since the bridge crossed an island that was formerly the home of Fort Armstrong, the Department of War had a say in the construction (even though Fort Armstrong had closed in 1845). Future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who was Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce initially approved the bridge thinking that the first transcontinental railroad was going to go through the South to Los Angeles, California. However, as resistance to this plan began to surface Davis opposed the bridge fearing that it would result in the transcontinental railroad going through the north. Davis ordered the construction halted but was ignored.
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Wikipedia