The Joe Page Bridge is located in the small town of Hardin, Illinois. Hardin is located in the land between the two rivers, with the Illinois River on the east side of town and the Mississippi River a few miles to the west. Many sources state that this is the longest bridge in Illinois, and the lift span of 308 foot 9 inches is the longest lift span in the world. While there may be some category of bridge where it is (or was) the longest in the world, both the Arthur Kill and Cape Cod Canal bridges have longer lift spans at 558 feet and 544 feet long, respectively.

This 1931 era bridge was rehabilitated between March 2003 and December 2004. The most noticeable change is that the bridge was repainted to a very bright green color. One of the challenging parts of the construction was replacing the lift cables and pulleys. This required that the bridge remain in the down position for 23 days in August and September of 2003. Barge traffic continued to flow by using tow boats to hand barges off under the lowered lift span of the bridge.

The bridge is named after Joe Page (1845-1938) was a famous local resident. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, was editor of the local newspaper, worked as an architect and engineer, served as mayor of Jerseyville, and was supervisor of the construction of the bridge that now carries his name.