This bridge is one of three highway bridges serving the Rock Island Arsenal. Prior to 9/11, one could simply drive across the bridge and tour the Arsenal. Today, security is high, and one has to have a need to enter the island. There is an Army museum, National River Visitors Center, Lock and Dam #15 overlook, National Cemetary, and a historical driving tour, all of which are good reasons to take a tour of the island.

This is a very historic river crossing. The first structure here was a dam built in 1837. It was used by pedestrians, and was wide enough for wagons to cross. That dam survived until 1868. A wooden bridge was built by the City of Moline in 1860, but it was destroyed by ice in 1867. An iron bridge was built in 1873, and was replaced by a concrete arch bridge in 1932. That bridge was built with substandard concrete, and it gradually crumbled under its own weight. It was closed in 1981, and replaced with the current modern steel girder bridge.