View source for Keokuk Rail Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge across the Mississippi river}}
{{Expand German|date=December 2021|topic=struct}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name= Keokuk Bridge
|image=GENERAL VIEW FROM UPSTREAM ON THE IOWA SHORE, LOOKING S. PHOTOGRAPHER- SARAH J. DENNETT - Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River, Keokuk, Lee County, IA HAER IOWA,56-KEOK,1-1 cut.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption= Upstream of the Keokuk Rail Bridge, 1982
|official_name= 
|also_known_as= 
|carries= Double-deck single-track railway and highway bridge
|crosses= [[Mississippi River]]
|locale= [[Keokuk, Iowa]], and [[Hamilton, Illinois]]
|maint= 
|id= 
|design= [[Swing bridge]]
|mainspan= 
|length= 
|width= 
|clearance= 
|below= 
|traffic= 
|open= 1916
|closed= 
|toll= 
|map_cue= 
|map_image= 
|map_text= 
|map_width= 
|coordinates= {{coord|40|23|28|N|91|22|24|W|region:US_type:landmark}}
|lat= 
|long= 
}}

The '''Keokuk Bridge''', also known as the Keokuk Municipal Bridge, is a double-deck, single-track [[List of road-rail bridges|railway and highway bridge]] across the [[Mississippi River]] in the United States between [[Keokuk, Iowa]], and [[Hamilton, Illinois]], just downstream of Mississippi Lock and Dam number 19. It was designed by [[Ralph Modjeski]] and constructed 1915&ndash;1916 on the piers of its predecessor that was constructed in 1869&ndash;1871.

Following the completion of the [[Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge]] in 1985, the [[US Route 136]] traffic was rerouted there, and the upper deck of this bridge, on the Keokuk side, was converted to an observation deck to view the nearby lock and dam; this deck is no longer used for road traffic, but the lower deck is still used for rail traffic. The bridge was originally owned by the Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge Company, but following financial problems in the 1940s, the bridge was given to the City of Keokuk in late 1948.

The bridge was originally the western terminus of the [[Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad]]. Today, it serves  the [[Keokuk Junction Railway]] with occasional train crossings for interconnection and river terminal services. Only the Keokuk side of the highway bridge has been converted, the bridge's upper highway deck is abandoned. The river traffic (barges and boats) have the right-of-way, so the swing section remains open until a train needs to cross the river.

On the Illinois side of the bridge, two precast concrete barriers prevent auto traffic from driving on to the old highway section.
[[File:Keokuk Rail Bridge toll booth.jpg|thumb|left|Toll booth on Keokuk Rail Bridge, 1982]]
The bridge was documented as survey number IA-3 by the [[Historic American Engineering Record]], archived in the [[Library of Congress]].

==See also==
*[[List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River]]
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois]]
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa]]
*[[Lock and Dam No. 19]]

==External links==
*{{HAER |survey=IA-3 |id=ia0124 |title=Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River, Keokuk, Lee County, IA |photos=101 |data=57 |cap=8}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060415003317/http://www.keokukiowatourism.org/observation.htm Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Bureau] - Observation deck
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060320030819/http://keokuk-ia.com/history/early.htm Construction dates and brief history]

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Mississippi River]]
|bridge          = Keokuk Rail Bridge
|bridge signs    = 
|upstream        = [[Fort Madison Toll Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = [[Image:Illinois 9.svg|20px]] ''BNSF Railway''
|downstream      = [[Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge]]
|downstream signs = [[Image:US 136.svg|25px]]
}}

[[Category:Railroad bridges in Iowa]]
[[Category:Railroad bridges in Illinois]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Road-rail bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Keokuk, Iowa]]
[[Category:Bridges in Lee County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Lee County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Hancock County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Illinois]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Iowa]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Illinois]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Iowa]]
[[Category:1916 establishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:1916 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1916]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa]]
[[Category:Interstate railroad bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Double-decker bridges]]