# 5810 - 2023 25c Presort Bridges: Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge- Bettendorf, Iowa to Moline, Illinois

US #5810
2023 Iowa Illinois Memorial Bridge Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline, Illinois – Bridges

• Pictures the Iowa Illinois Memorial Bridge in Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois
• One of 4 Bridges stamps issued for use by bulk mailers to cover the Presorted First Class Mail Rate

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Bridges
Value:  25¢ Presorted First Class Mail Rate (Nondenominated)
First Day of Issue:  August 24, 2023
First Day City:  Portland, Connecticut
Quantity Issued:  20,100,000 OR 600,000,000
Printed by:  Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Coils of 3,000 OR 10,000
Tagging:  Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tagged

Why the stamp was issued:  For use by bulk mail users to cover the Presorted First Class Mail Rate. 

About the stamp design:  Pictures the Iowa Illinois Memorial Bridge, a significant landmark to the Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois, communities.  Design shows a photograph of the bridge.

First Day City:  Issued on August 24^th in Portland, Connecticut, not far from the Arrigoni Bridge.  There was no official First Day of Issue Ceremony, though the Connecticut Cover Club held an unofficial one at the Brownstone Intermediate School in Portland.

About the Bridges set:  Intended for use by bulk mailers to cover the Presorted First Class Mail Rate.  Each stamp pictures a different bridge that has become a significant landmark to its local community.  Some are modern, others are historic, and they range in use from car-carrying to pedestrian only.  All four stamps picture existing photographs of the bridges.

History the stamp represents:  Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge (also known as The Twin Bridges or the I-74 Bridge) are twin bridges that cross the Mississippi River and connect Bettendorf, Iowa, to Moline, Illinois.  Interstate 74 crosses the bridge, bringing with it approximately 80,000 cars every day.

The Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge was originally proposed and planned by William P. Bettendorf in 1907, but when he died in 1910, the idea was forgotten for 21 years.  Construction of the first span of the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge began in 1934 and it was opened November 18, 1935.  The second span was completed in 1959 and opened in 1960.

In 1994, it was discovered that the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge did not meet modern standards for bridges carrying Interstates.  The lanes were too narrow, there were no shoulders, and the speed limit was just 50 miles per hour.  However, the idea of renovating the bridges was dropped until May 2012 when it was suggested an entirely new bridge be built upstream.  The new bridge opened November 13, 2020, with pedestrian and pike paths completed in April 2022.

The old Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge was scheduled for demolition by 2024.  The new bridge, however, will be remembered forever on this 2023 US Bridges stamp.