116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Ferry replaces Lansing’s Black Hawk Bridge across Mississippi River
Residents and businesses hope Pride of Cassville carries them through span’s unplanned closure
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LANSING — Robert McCumber’s daily commute now includes a ferry crossing.
“The ferry was fun,” McCumber said. “The infrastructure they put in seems to be OK.”
Until Oct. 20, McCumber simply drove across the Black Hawk Bridge to get to work in northeast Iowa’s Lansing — a 10-minute drive from his home across the Mississippi River in Wisconsin. But the landmark span was closed — for good, this time — after planners determined continued construction of the new bridge “pose a risk to the safety of the existing bridge.”
The 94-year-old span’s closure severs a vital connection between Lansing businesses and their Wisconsin customers and employees. About 2,200 vehicles a day used the bridge, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Jerry Boardman of De Soto, Wisconsin (right) and Jeremy Smith of Waukon, Iowa take a moment to look at the construction happening on the Black Hawk Bridge as they use the car ferry to cross the Mississippi River from Iowa to Wisconsin from the Lansing marina on Monday. Smith, who works for a realty company in De Soto, said he has to commute from Iowa to Wisconsin frequently and will now utilize the car ferry to commute. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Water taxi users sit on benches as the boat makes its way past the Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing on April 10, 2024. The Water Taxi was used during a temporary closure of the bridge, but now that the bridge is closed permanently, a car ferry is in operation, transporting people and their vehicles. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
Construction crews work on the Black Hawk Bridge that connects Lansing, Iowa to De Soto, Wisconsin on Monday. The bridge will be demolished in December, and a new bridge is expected to open in spring of 2027. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Ferry deckhand Terry Mergen signals a truck to stop as he loads vehicles on to the car ferry from the Lansing, Iowa marina on Monday. The car ferry will run daily until a new bridge replacing the 94-year-old Black Hawk Bridge is completed in spring of 2027. The ferry can hold up to 12 vehicles and takes about 15 minutes to cross the river. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Construction crews work on the Black Hawk Bridge that connects Lansing, Iowa to De Soto, Wisconsin on Monday, November 3, 2025. The bridge is anticipated to be under repair until 2027. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
“It’s 40 percent of our business,” said Paul Horsfall, McCumber’s boss and owner of Horsfall’s Lansing Variety, itself a local landmark whose Main Street storefronts stock “the one item you need and the million items you don't.” Few visitors to Horsfall’s dispute that claim.
“It’s hard to get your expenses any lower, because you still need the same amount of people,” Horsfall said.
Earlier temporary closures — of about two months through April 2024 and about three weeks in May and June of this year — took a toll on Lansing and its neighbors. A water taxi service for passengers — but not vehicles — was operated while the bridge was closed.
“It was terrible,” said Dave Janzen, owner of Lansing Hardware Hank. “We lost half our customers. We have plenty of loyal customers on both sides. We’re looking forward to having them back.”
The Black Hawk was the only Mississippi bridge between Marquette, 27 miles south, and LaCrescent, Minn., 36 miles north.
Before the ferry began operation, Kris Meyers’ commute to her job at Lansing Housing Products went from 20 minutes to more than 90 minutes each way.
Despite some delays loading and unloading Monday at the ferry landings, “it was nice,” Meyers said. “It’s very helpful.”
The Black Hawk Bridge closed permanently on Oct. 20, and residents, employees and others who use the bridge waited two weeks for the ferry service to begin.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Brian Houlihan, president of Lansing Housing Products. “It should have been planned out, but it’s where we’re at. I have valued, long-term employees that live on the other side.”
“Our biggest concern of course is for our downtown businesses,” said Teresa Severson, Lansing’s city clerk. “The DOT has done a fabulous job making this happen. It’s not going to relieve 100 percent of the burden, but hopefully it lessens it.”
Wendy Eiden said the ferry had already brought some customers to her shop, Coffee on the River, Monday morning.
“We have a large customer base from over there,” she said, adding that last year’s closure was “very tough.”
“We were down over 70 percent,” Eiden said.
The ferry service is provided by the Pride of Cassville, available after its usual summertime service linking that Wisconsin town and rural Millville, Iowa, ended Oct. 27.
“We had to take this step in order to make that timeline and do it safely,” said Daniel Yeh, Iowa DOT’s director of government and community relations who was on hand for the startup. “It’s a long way to go on either side.”
To operate through the new bridge’s spring 2027 completion, the ferry service — free to its passengers — is expected to cost $17 million. Like the $124 million bridge replacement, the cost is split between Iowa and Wisconsin. Project contractor Kraemer North America graded landing ramps on both sides of the channel, and webcams at each landing allow commuters to check wait times for the ferry.
A search is underway for a replacement vessel when the Pride of Cassville returns to its regular run next spring. In the meantime, the ferry’s daily crossings and Kraemer’s work boats should prevent wintertime freezing of the channel.
“We will be working throughout the winter to contract with another ferry service that will take over for Cassville,” said IDOT project manager Clayton Burke, who was on hand with Yeh for the first crossings. “This new service is intended to remain in place until the new bridge is open to traffic.”
With the bridge’s early closing, work got underway for its removal. Crews are removing its deck and some structural members in preparation of its planned explosive demolition, tentatively set for mid-December.
Meanwhile and for the next 18 months — the new bridge is expected to open in the spring of 2027 — Lansing residents hope visitors aren’t put off by the ferry crossing.
“We got one more fun thing to do in Lansing,” Severson said.
“Don’t stop coming,” said Yeh. “You just have to change your plans, but both sides of the river the facilities are open.”
“We believe in being positive, and putting our best foot forward,” said Diana Eiden-Thompson, partner with her sister Eiden at the coffee shop.
Want to ride the Lansing ferry?
- Hours of operation: Seven days a week
- First trip: 5:30 a.m. from Wisconsin, 5:45 a.m. from Iowa
- Last trip: 9 p.m. from Wisconsin, 9:15 p.m. from Iowa
- Frequency: Continuous, first-come, first-served
- Commuter Traffic Priority: To support more efficient travel for daily commuters, priority access to the car ferry be given to commuter traffic during peak hours: 5:30-7:30 a.m. and 3:30-5:30 p.m. Non-commuters are encouraged to travel outside these windows when possible.
- Revised Holiday Schedule: The car ferry will operate on a revised schedule (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) on Iowa DOT-observed holidays. The first holiday to follow this schedule will be Veterans Day (Nov. 11), followed by Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 27-28, and Christmas Day. Other holidays that will follow this revised schedule are: New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
More information can be found at bit.ly/LansingCarFerry
A live cam of the traffic waiting for the ferry can be found at bit.ly/CarFerryCam.
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