LANSING - Did you receive an ‘Emergency Call’ at 3:33 p.m. on Sunday, February 25th? We did. The recorded voice of a Crawford County 911 Dispatcher told us the Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing, Iowa would be closed to traffic shortly because of safety concerns.

Guess what? It’s still closed.

So what happened? The Iowa Department of Transportation made the decision to close the bridge after it was reported that two guardrails on the Wisconsin side of the bridge were ‘kinked.’ A subsequent examination of the damaged bridge forced the IDOT to close the bridge.

Now what? On Tuesday morning, the Iowa Department of Transportation announced a plan to repair the compromised bridge by having two new concrete piers built on the Wisconsin side of the bridge to support the bridge. Those two new piers will lift the bridge up to its original position before the current piers shifted, explained Clayton Burke, the IDOT project manager overseeing the repair.

The work will be done by Kraemer North America, the contractor currently building the new bridge to replace the Black Hawk Bridge.

How long will the Black Hawk Bridge be closed?

It is estimated that building the two new concrete piers and supporting the bridge will take two months.

“We hope to have it in place as rapidly as possible,” Burke said of the repair project.

The original piers, which failed, will be left in place during the process of building the new piers.

The construction of a new $140 million replacement bridge to replace the Black Hawk Bridge began in 2023. That bridge is expected to be completed in 2027.

The Black Hawk Bridge is 93 years old. It starts on the banks of Mississippi River in Lansing, Iowa on Highway 9 and crosses the Main Channel, on which the barges travel. On the Wisconsin side of the bridge, it meets Highway 82, which travels east on a long causeway that ultimately reaches the eastern riverbank where it intersects Highway 35 between Ferryville and DeSoto.

The most recent damage to the guardrails was reported to law enforcement by a passing motorist on Sunday, Feb. 25. In turn, law enforcement notified the Iowa Department of Transportation and the bridge was promptly inspected. Shortly after that inspection, the bridge was closed to traffic.

For those not familiar with the geography of the Mississippi River in this area, it’s safe to say it’s long on water and short on bridges.

The nearest two bridges are to the south in Prairie du Chien, where the bridge crosses the mighty Mississippi River on its way to Marquette, Iowa; and to north in LaCrosse, where the bridge and causeway connects that city to LaCrescent, Minnesota.

Well just how far is it to the nearest bridges? So, from Lansing to Marquette is 23 to 28 miles, depending on which route you pick. So, it’s about 45 to 55 miles for the complete trip to get to the other side. If you choose to go to LaCrescent from Lansing, it’s about 40 miles. A complete trip to other side by way of LaCrosse will be about 80 miles of extra travel distance.

So, not crossing from Lansing to Wisconsin by way of the Black Hawk Bridge and the causeway, will take from hour to an hour-and-a-half or more to get to the same destination.

“We are currently working on alternative transportation options for those who rely on the bridge,” a release on Iowa DOT website stated.

Clayton Burke, the IDOT project manager, explained that free bus service, on both sides of the river, around the closed bridge is planned. He noted that would help eliminate the cost incurred in driving the lengthy detours.

Burke also indicated that IDOT was also looking into feasibility of a passenger ferry.

It’s going to be a long two months for people accustomed to crossing the river at Lansing, Iowa on a daily basis.

A North Crawford School counselor, who lives in Lansing, used a boat ride and an assist from a North Crawford teacher, who lives in DeSoto, to get to school today. See the story and photos on Page 12.

p { color: #000000; line-height: 115%; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.1in; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "MS Mincho", "ＭＳ 明朝", monospace; font-size: 12pt }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:visited { color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }