Happy to have bridge reopened to Keokuk

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BY ETHAN LILLARD

The band Cinderella said it best, 'You don’t know what you got, til it’s gone'. Had to slip that reference in working at a rock station, you understand.

LILLARD

That being said, I have recently, at the ripe age of 27, just come to realize how important bridges truly are. The bridge that joins Hamilton and Keokuk is something I have always taken for granted. It’s too convenient for me to load up in the car and head to Walmart, go to Aldis, go to Sonic, Taco Bell... the list goes on. Not to mention part of my job is in Keokuk.

But when the bridge closed due to the recent flooding last week, my only way to Keokuk was a 45-minute detour through Fort Madison. Not that I don’t like Fort Madison, but a trip that gets extended by 30-40 minutes due to flood waters is just downright frustrating. Especially when the trip typically takes 10 minutes to begin with. Luckily for me I had Dollar General to help get my family by in Hamilton, but I desperately missed those quick trips across the bridge to go grab some food, grab something from the office, or whatever it may be.

Living along the Mississippi River clearly has its pros and cons. We get the beauty of the river, but still deal with its wrath at the same time. If you even attempt to walk across the bridge in the afternoon, good luck not choking down at least a dozen bugs. Not to mention the barges when dealing with the Fort Madison bridge.

But still, I would much rather have the majestic view of the Mighty Mississippi, the bridge to get across it, and the opportunity to make quick trips to Keokuk on a whim - maybe even walk across to get there. The point is, the bridge is now open and my life is back to normal. It’s just crazy to me that it literally took a natural disaster for me to realize just how important bridges are.

And a special thanks to all of the IDOT workers working around the clock to make sure the flood waters were regulated so nobody tried to drive through and get swept away. While living in the area we do has us accustomed to the seasonal floods, it still doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Not being able to cross the bridge threw a wrench in thousands of people’s schedules, but at the end of the day, it was much better having an option to go through Fort Madison instead of being completely stuck or trying to drive through the flood and not making it out.

Ethan Lillard is the Pen City Current's sports reporter covering Fort Madison High School sports.

Column, editorial, Ethan Lillard, flooding, fort madison, Keokuk bridge, opinion, Pen City Current

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