With the Missouri River on the western side of the state and the Mississippi River on the eastern, Iowa is bounded by some extremely notable rivers. This, in turn, means there’s probably going to be some big bridges around. And there are.

The longest bridge in the state of Iowa is the Julien Dubuque Bridge, which was included in the top ten bridges in America by Road and Bridges Magazine. The length? 5,760 feet.
Iowa Department of Transportation
The Julien Dubuque Bridge spans the Mighty Mississippi between Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois.
Dirk DBQ / Flickr
At one point in the past, multiple highways intersected to cross this bridge, but currently, it just carries traffic for Highway 20.
Dirk DBQ / Flickr
Built in the WWII era, this bridge was seen as a strategic thruway for the transportation of goods and materials across the United States.
Dirk / Wikipedia
Completed in 1943, the bridge was a needed replacement for an older bridge known as the wagon bridge, which had been built in 1887 as a non-railway crossing of this massive river.

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The Julien Dubuque Bridge is arched with an impressive and picturesque center span.
James / Flickr
Because it was built in wartime, the precautionary step was taken to paint the bridge a light grey color as a bit of camouflage to match the water beneath if the bridge was approached from the air. While that precaution proved to be unneeded, this bridge has been through a lot.
Dirk DBQ / Flickr
Season in and season out for nearly 80 years, this bridge has been a valuable link between the two states it spans. It would be fascinating if there were a counting device to tell how many times the bridge has been crossed!
Teemu008 / Flickr
Interestingly, when it first opened it cost a toll to cross this bridge as a means of paying back the bonds used to build it. The bridge was so popular that it was paid off in roughly 10 years - far sooner than expected.
Dirk DBQ / Flickr

Next time you are heading across the country, consider crossing the Julien Dubuque Bridge and taking a moment as you cross to appreciate the architecture, the history, and the quiet presence of this significant bridge throughout the decades. Do you love bridges? Here’s another one of Iowa’s longest, a bridge that spans the state’s largest lake.

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Julien Dubuque Bridge, Dubuque, IA, USA