Fort Madison Toll Bridge

Bridge in and Niota, Illinois

Fort Madison Toll Bridge

Coordinates| 40°37′37″N 91°17′45″W﻿ / ﻿40.62694°N 91.29583°W﻿ / 40.62694; -91.29583
Carries| 2 lanes of  IL 9 and rail lines
Crosses| Mississippi River
Locale| Fort Madison, Iowa, and Niota, Illinois
Other name(s)| Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge
Maintained by| BNSF Railway
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks| 2
History
Opened| July 26, 1927
Statistics
Daily traffic| 63.4 trains per day (as of 2014[update])[1]
Toll| $3.00 as of 1/1/2024 (eastbound only (to IL)), per vehicle, with rates varying for motorcycles, vehicles with trailers, etc.

Fort Madison Bridge

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

MPS| Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS
NRHP reference No.| 99001035[2]
Added to NRHP| August 27, 1999
Location

The Fort Madison Toll Bridge (also known as the Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge for the old Santa Fe Railway) is a tolled, double-decked swinging truss bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Fort Madison, Iowa, and unincorporated Niota, Illinois. A double-track railway occupies the lower deck of the bridge, while two lanes of road traffic are carried on the upper deck. The bridge is about 1 mile (1.6 km) long with a swing span of 525 feet (160 m), and was the longest and largest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world when constructed in 1927.[3] It replaced an inadequate combination roadway/single-track bridge completed in 1887. The main river crossing consists of four 270-foot (82 m) Baltimore through truss spans and a swing span made of two equal arms, 266 feet (81 m) long. In 1999, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under the title, Fort Madison Bridge, ID number 99001035. It was also documented as survey number IA-62 by the Historic American Engineering Record, archived at the Library of Congress. Construction and photographic details were recorded at the time in Scientific American magazine.

The bridge is the western terminus of Illinois Route 9 which continues eastwards towards Canton, Illinois, about 80 miles (130 km), and Peoria, about 100 miles (160 km). Iowa Highway 2 formerly reached the bridge from the west. On July 26, 1927, operations were transferred from the original single-track bridge to the current double-track bridge. The first opening for river traffic occurred at 11:58 a.m. on July 26, 1927, for the scow C. W. Howell, traveling downriver with no barges attached.[citation needed]

The bridge is privately owned by BNSF Railway and is the river crossing for the Southern Transcon, BNSF's Chicago–Southern California main line. In 2022, between 40 and 100 trains crossed the bridge each day,[4] including Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Amtrak's Fort Madison station is 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the bridge.

Per Coast Guard regulations and the BNSF Fort Madison River Bridge operations manual, river traffic has the right-of-way over train and vehicle traffic on the bridge. Durations of openings vary depending on weather, river current, size and number of boats, and, occasionally, mechanical problems. A typical opening for a tow with 15 barges lasts 15–20 minutes. The bridge opens over 2,000 times per year, an average of more than five times per day.[citation needed]

## Automobile traffic

[edit]

As of 2022[update], the upper deck of the Fort Madison Toll Bridge is open to automobile traffic. It is closed to semi-trailer truck traffic. The BNSF, which owns and maintains the bridge has posted the following limits: Gross weight posted as no more than 16,000 Pounds (8 Tons). Width: 8 Ft. Height: 14 Ft. 4 In. Length: 60 Feet.[citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Madison Toll Bridge.

* 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
* List of road–rail bridges

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Missouri Department of Transportation (2017). The Merchants Bridge rehabilitation program (PDF) (Grant application). Figure 10: Rail Traffic Volumes Overlaid with Seismic Hazard, 2014.
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
3. ^ Crow-Dolby, Michelle. "Fort Madison Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved November 27, 2018. with photo
4. ^ "Temporary weight restriction placed on Fort Madison bridge after inspection". The Hawk Eye via Yahoo. November 3, 2022.

* Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IA-62, "Fort Madison Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River at U.S. Highway 61, Fort Madison, Lee County, IA", 14 photos, 1 color transparency, 16 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* Weeks, John. "Fort Madison/Niota Toll Bridge". Retrieved January 18, 2006.
* "Crews Tackle Mississippi River Bridge Work". BNSF. October 10, 2005. Archived from the original on June 3, 2006.

* The Fort Madison Toll Bridge

Crossings of the Mississippi River

| Upstream
Burlington Rail Bridge
BNSF Railway | Fort Madison Toll Bridge
BNSF Railway | Downstream
Keokuk Rail Bridge

|
|

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National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Iowa

Denmark|

* Hosea S. and Elizabeth Case House
* Bridgeport Bridge
* Denmark Congregational Church

Donnellson|

* John McGreer Barn and Crib

Farmington|

* Sharon Cemetery Historic District

Fort Madison|

* Albright House
* Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Passenger and Freight Complex Historic District
* Chief Justice Joseph M. Beck House
* Cattermole Memorial Library
* Faeth Farmstead and Orchard District
* Fort Madison Bridge
* Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District
* Fort Madison High School
* Iowa State Penitentiary Cellhouses Historic District
* Lee County Courthouse
* Daniel McConn Barn
* Moyce-Steffens House
* Old Fort Madison Site
* Park-to-Park Residential Historic District
* St. Mary of the Assumption Church
* George E. Schlapp House
* Craig and Virginia Sheaffer House
* Walter A. Sheaffer House

Franklin|

* Christian and Katharina Herschler House, Barn, and Outbuildings Historic District

Keokuk|

* Gen. William Worth Belknap House
* Gen. Samuel R. Curtis House
* GEO. M. VERITY
* E. H. Harrison House
* Hotel Iowa
* John N. and Mary L. (Rankin) Irwin House
* C. R. Joy House
* Keokuk National Cemetery
* Keokuk Union Depot
* Keokuk Young Women's Christian Association Building
* Lock and Dam No. 19 Historic District
* Justice Samuel Freeman Miller House
* St. John's Episcopal Church and Parish Hall
* St. Peter Church
* Hugh W. and Sarah Sample House
* The Park Place-Grand Avenue Residential District
* U.S. Post Office and Courthouse
* Alois and Annie Weber House
* Frank J. Weess House

Montrose|

* St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Primrose|

* Primrose Mill

West Point|

* Presbyterian Church

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Lee County, Iowa and List of National Historic Landmarks in Iowa
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