One of the new components in the DOT’s 2013-17 construction plan is the replacement of the US 52/IA 64 bridge at Iowa’s far eastern end in 2016. It would be the third major river bridge in Iowa to be replaced in the past ten years (US 275/IA 92, IA 394/27) but the first across the Mississippi since the US 34 Great River Bridge opened in 1993.
The existing bridge has a steel deck and is very narrow. The question of whether the new bridge will have a superstructure is an interesting one because the existing bridge uses two massive piers to let barges and other river traffic underneath. If it does, it’s not likely to be this elaborate, but I have not seen any designs.
The Savanna-Sabula Bridge will be 80 years old at the end of this year. It is the third-oldest Iowa bridge still in use across the Mississippi River but the second-longest in continuous operation, due to the Black Hawk Bridge being closed for 12 years. Only the Government Bridge in Davenport, which no longer carries a signed highway, and the IA 2/IL 9 toll bridge in Fort Madison are older.