DUBUQUE-WISCONSIN BRIDGE

Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge

DUBUQUE-WISCONSIN BRIDGE (new) Opened in 1981, the new bridge replaced the EAGLE POINT BRIDGE.

Construction work had to be halted when a colony of the endangered HIGGINS' EYE CLAM was discovered. In May 1980, work was halted when a Native American burial site was discovered on the bluff where the bridge was to connect into Wisconsin. Archaeologists had missed the burial, a linear-shaped mound fifteen feet long with a cone-shaped mound at the north end, by reading their map incorrectly and looking in the wrong location. Before excavations to move the human remains could be made, a Winnebago medicine man came to sanctify the ground.

Bridge naming contest. Photo courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/ykyguidiiyr/

In September 1982, the TELEGRAPH HERALD proposed that the bridge should be named in honor of Reverend Samuel MAZZUCHELLI, a priest responsible for establishing Roman Catholic churches throughout the area during the 1800s. The newspaper had asked readers to suggest and then vote for a name. The City Council rejected the name and instead proposed several of its own. Councilman Bill Hammel proposed using the name "Dubuque--Wisconsin Bridge" to signify the fine relationship Dubuque had with its neighboring state. Councilman Don DEICH, however, won the support of the other council members for the name "Tri-State Veterans Memorial Bridge."

Commemorative paperweight. Photo courtesy: Tom Carroll

The Council recommendation was sent to the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Transportation Study, Iowa Department of Transportation, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation for their agreement. The present name, Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge, was finally adopted, however, because it had been used by the Iowa Department of Transportation in its bid-letting pamphlets.

Iowa pays 60% and Wisconsin pays 40% of maintenance and repair costs. This is based on how much of the bridge is in each state.