View source for Eagle Point Bridge

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name= Eagle Point Bridge
|image= IAWIBdg.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption= The former Eagle Point Bridge
|official_name=
|also_known_as=
|carries= 2 lanes of {{jct|country=USA|US 1961|61|US 1961|151}}
|crosses= [[Mississippi River]]
|locale= [[Dubuque, Iowa]], and [[Grant County, Wisconsin]]
|maint= [[Iowa|State of Iowa]]
|id=
|design= [[Truss bridge]]
|mainspan=
|length=
|width=
|clearance=
|below=
|traffic=
|open= 1902
|closed= 1983
|toll=
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates={{coord|42.537|N|90.644|W|format=dms|region:US-IA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|lat=
|long=
}}
The '''Eagle Point Bridge''' was a very narrow two-lane [[automobile]] bridge that connected urban [[Dubuque, Iowa]], and rural [[Grant County, Wisconsin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eagle Point Bridge |url=http://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/pagesA/umissA12.html |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=John Weeks Website}}</ref> It was part of the [[U.S. Route 61|US 61]]/[[U.S. Route 151|US 151]] route, and was a toll bridge. After the new [[Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge|Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge]] was built in 1983, the Eagle Point Bridge was torn down. At the end, the toll was ten cents, both ways,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eagle Point Bridge |url=https://bridgehunter.com/ia/dubuque/eagle-point |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Bridgehunter.com}}</ref> collected on the Iowa side.

The bridge was located about {{Convert|900|ft}} south of [[Lock and Dam No. 11]], at the northern edge of Rhomberg Avenue in Dubuque, and connected to Eagle Point Road on the opposite side of the river. It was about {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} north of the present bridge. In 1968, the highway designation was removed from the bridge and a four-ton load limit was put in place.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web
 | author      = Dennett, Muessig & Associates, Ltd.
 | date        = 1982
 | title       = Eagle Point Bridge
 | url         = https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ia/ia0100/ia0114/data/ia0114data.pdf 
 | work        = [[Historic American Engineering Record]]
 | publisher   = Library of Congress
 | location    = Washington, D.C.
 | page        = 25
 | access-date = 2018-10-19
}}</ref>
The bridge was still structurally sound after the new bridge was built, leading some to ask the bridge be kept open as a pedestrian or special use bridge, but the state of Iowa still tore the bridge down.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=EAGLE_POINT_BRIDGE |title=Eagle Point Bridge |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Dubuque}}</ref>

Several years after the demolition of the bridge, a restaurant known as the Tollbridge Inn was constructed at what was the Iowa end of the bridge. The restaurant operated for a number of years, until it was torn down to make way for future development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TOLLBRIDGE INN (THE) - Encyclopedia Dubuque |url=https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php/TOLLBRIDGE_INN_(THE)#:~:text=The%20Tollbridge%20Inn%20was%20a,from%20the%20city%20for%20$14,000. |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.encyclopediadubuque.org}}</ref>

The bridge was extensively documented in 1982 for the [[Historic American Engineering Record]], archived at the [[Library of Congress]]. The documentation includes 81 black-and-white photos and 39 data pages detailing construction and history of the bridge.<ref name=":0" />

{{Gallery
|title=Eagle Point Bridge
|File:EaglePointParkStairwayAndBridgeDubuqueCirca1912.tif
 |alt1=Postcard of Eagle Point Park Stairway and Bridge, Circa 1912
 |Postcard titled "Eagle Point Park Stairway And Bridge Dubuque" with May 21, 1912 postmark on reverse.
|File:Grant11171940 11A-73 7x9 crop Lock and Dam 11 with Eagle Point Bridge.jpg
 |alt2=Aerial view of a lock and dam
 |An aerial view of Lock and Dam 11 with the Eagle Point Bridge, November 1940
}}

==See also==
*[[List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River]]
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa]]
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Wisconsin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{HAER |survey=IA-2 |id=ia0114 |title=Eagle Point Bridge, Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA |photos=81 |data=39 |cap=6}}

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Mississippi River]]
|bridge          = Eagle Point Bridge (Demolished)
|bridge signs    = '''Former''' [[Image:US 61.svg|20px]] [[Image:US 151.svg|25px]]
|upstream        = [[Marquette-Joliet Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = [[Image:US 18.svg|20px]] [[Image:WIS 60.svg|20px]]
|downstream      = [[Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge]]
|downstream signs = [[Image:US 61.svg|20px]] [[Image:US 151.svg|25px]]
}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Transportation in Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1902]]
[[Category:Demolished bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 61]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Iowa]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 51]]
[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Iowa]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Bridges in Dubuque County, Iowa]]
[[Category:1902 establishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:1902 establishments in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1983 disestablishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:1983 disestablishments in Wisconsin]]