It was originally constructed in 1868 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, a predecessor of BNSF Railway.

[citation needed] Since the Great Flood of 1993 the Amtrak Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg services terminate at the Quincy station, although after the passengers have disembarked the trains do cross the bridge to the BNSF Railway yard in West Quincy, where the equipment is oriented in the proper direction for the return trip on the wye and is stored until the next departure.

[citation needed] The current structure, located at Mississippi River mile 380.0, was built in 1960.

[1] The bridge opened on November 11, 1960 dedicated by Harry Murphy, president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.

On November 27, 1915, a passenger train travelling east from Missouri fell into the bay after failing to stop when the swing bridge was open for a barge.