Lansing Bridge Permanently Closing This Fall

The 94-year-old Mississippi River bridge between Lansing, Iowa, and southwest Wisconsin will permanently close this fall. 

Iowa DOT engineer Clayton Burke says the new bridge is being built 25 feet from the Black Hawk Bridge.

Construction on a replacement bridge just north of the old bridge began in 2023 and the old bridge was temporarily closed in February of last year and again this spring to analyze shifting caused by the construction. Burke says the bridge recently moved about an inch and half as temporary piling was being installed in the river.

Burke says the new bridge has to be built in that spot due to regulations in the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Burke says state transportation officials in Iowa and Wisconsin went with the best option for building a new bridge while maintaining traffic on the old bridge. A demolition plan is being developed, but Burke says the first stage will involve taking off the bridge deck and removing some steel beams underneath, followed by demolishing the segment of the bridge from its center to the east side — because that’s closest to where construction of the new bridge had to be halted.

The date for the work hasn’t been announced. Burke says during the navigation season for barges, the Coast Guard typically issues permits that allow no more than 72 hours for demolishing a bridge and fishing the debris out of the river.

While there’s no river crossing between Wisconsin and Lansing, Iowa, Burke says a water taxi is an option, but officials hope to find a car ferry.

The other challenge for the car ferry idea is ice that may form on the Mississippi in the winter. Burke says construction crews working on the bridge may be able to break the ice and create a path for the car ferry.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa