Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge
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The Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge connects Dubuque, Iowa, with Grant County, Wisconsin. It is an automobile bridge that traverses the Mississippi River. It is one of two automobile bridges in the Dubuque area. The Julien Dubuque Bridge - the other automobile bridge - is located about three miles south.
The bridge is a four lane, limited access bridge. It is part of the US Highway 61/151 route. This bridge replaced the older Eagle Point Bridge that previously served as the connection between Dubuque and Wisconsin.
History
In the late 1970s and the early 1980s city officals became convinced that the Eagle Point Bridge was no longer adequate for the city's needs. They determined that a four lane bridge would be needed for the increasing traffic that was anticipated.
Several names for the bridge were considered for the new bridge. Included among the names suggested was one that honored pioneer priest Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli.
Construction was delayed when a Native American burial spot was found on land that was part of the proposed Wisconsin approach. A Winnebago medicine man was brought in to bless the site so that the remains could be moved.
The bridge was finished in 1983, and traffic was shifted over from the Eagle Point Bridge to the new bridge. The Eagle Point Bridge was demolished soon after. In the early 1990s, the approach to the bridge was rebuilt to accommodate the new four lane US 61/151 highway that was being built in Dubuque. In 2003 the deck was rebuilt and the bridge was cleaned.