50+ Lifestyles

A Powerful Connection

By Mary Schricker Gemberling

“You never know what could be on the other side!”

Once or twice a week Gary and I find ourselves crossing a bridge over a large expanse of water in Florida. Last week we drove to Sanibel Island; the Sanibel Causeway spans San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in Punta Rassa.
On the 3 mile trip across the bridge the blue-green water spans as far as the eye can see. It is one of my favorite views in all of Florida. I discovered in my research that Florida actually has 12,592 bridges, The longest at 35,867 feet is the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.

When it comes to bridges Iowa has nearly twice as many as Florida, and a particular one has been in the headlines in recent months. The I-74 River Bridge has historically provided an important east-west link in the nation’s transportation network. The bridge crosses the Mississippi River on two separate structures. The westbound bridge was completed and opened in 1935 with the eastbound side opening in 1960. Growing population and employment during the past several decades have led to increased traffic volume. Overtime, with the average vehicle load nearly doubling, the bridge became functionally obsolete and no longer met interstate standards. It was time for a new and improved structure in its place. The I-74 Mississippi River Bridge project developed a regional strategy for improving access across the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities. It included the replacement of the I-74 twin bridges, interchange ramp reconfigurations, and interstate and local roadway improvements. Construction began in July 2017 and was completed in 2021. The new bridge is more than twice as wide as the previously existing one, providing four lanes in each direction. On the western side of the Illinois-bound bridge is a half-mile long ADA-accessible bike/pedestrian path which will connect to trails in Bettendorf and Moline. The location on the bridge was chosen as a perfect spot to watch he sunset over the Mississippi River.

A few miles down the river another Quad City bridge brightly colors the horizon. The I- 280 bridge, or the big Blue Bridge as my children called it carries Interstate 280 across the Mississippi River between Davenport and Rock Island. The bridge, which opened in 2007, was painted with a vivid blue and yellow color scheme, thought to be unique to the state. On July 30, 2010 the bridge was officially named the Sergeant John F. Baker Bridge.

John F. Baker

“Baker was born in Davenport, Iowa and attended Moline High School from 1963-1966. At 5’2’, John competed and trained for the Olympics, facing a prominent gymnastics career, but instead chose a different path. Only a few short months after beginning his Army training, Baker was shipped off to Vietnam with the 27th infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. A private first class at the time, the 19-year old Baker’s company went out in the jungles for weeks at a time on combat patrols. Since he was a small guy weighing in at 105 pounds, he was often asked to crawl through Viet Cong tunnels filled with booby traps to try to lure the enemy out of their hiding spots. Baker had been in Vietnam only two months when, on November 5, 1966, he and his company were called to help rescue another unit that had been surrounded by the Viet Cong. On the way there they were ambushed and the man at the front of Baker’s unit was instantly killed. An assistant machine-gun bearer at the time, Baker immediately moved to the head of the group and, with another soldier, knocked out two enemy bunkers. Throughout the ordeal, Baker repeatedly assaulted the enemy and pulled wounded soldiers to safety.

When the battle was over, Baker had saved eight of his fellow soldiers, knocked out six Viet Cong machine gun bunkers, and killed 10 enemy soldiers, including several snipers. His courage and commitment under fire earned him the Medal of Honor in 1968, presented to him by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Baker continued to serve in the Army until 1989, when he retired to Columbia, South Carolina. He continued helping soldiers by working for the Veterans Administration until his death in January 2012 at the age of 66. Five-foot-two John Baker was a giant,” said Army Col. Drew Meyerowich at Baker’s funeral. “Once you got to know him, you realized he’s exactly the giant we expect to see on the battlefield. He was larger than life.” In August of 2018 the U.S. Army Garrison at the Rock Island Arsenal honored Sergeant John F. Baker naming a street after him in its new Eagle Point Housing Area.”
How appropriate that the giant blue bridge be named after a giant hero! Whether it is to honor one our nation’s heroes, provide a beautiful spot in which to view the sunset, or gaze at the blue-green water of the gulf, bridges provide a gap between our past and present. You cannot have the right to cross a bridge without respecting its power to connect.

“ When you cross a bridge, you take a break from the world!”

Mary, a former educator and Seniors Real Estate Specialist, is the author of four books: The West End Kid, Labor of Love; My Personal Journey through the World of Caregiving, Hotel Blackhawk; a Century of Elegance, Ebenezer United Methodist Church; 150 years of Resiliency.