Florence was a location where travelers seemed to want to cross the Illinois river in the 1800s. After a ferry was organized, the line waiting to cross the river was often several hours long. The bridge was installed as part of the US highway system. It carried US-36 until the new Valley City Eagle Bridges were built as part of the I-72 project in 1988. US-36 is now multiplexed on I-72 in western Illinois. Given that I-72 is only a few miles to the north, the Florence bridge is very lightly used.

The Florence bridge was refurbished in 1981, and refurbished again in 2004. In the 2004 project, the deck was replaced, the bridge was sandblasted and painted, the lift cables were replaced, a new operators house was built, and electrical work was performed.