116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Historic Lansing bridge closes again out of safety concerns
It was closed nearly 2 months in 2024 after movement of its supporting piers
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The historic Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing is closed again after sensors detected it was swaying too much, forcing drivers who need to cross the river to detour at least 70 miles out their way round-trip to take other bridges instead.
The bridge connects Allamakee County in Iowa with Crawford County in Wisconsin. The Iowa Department of Transportation estimates over 2,200 drivers cross the bridge daily.
So when it is closed, drivers needing to cross the Mississippi must detour to the closest other crossings — either to the south using Highway 18 between Marquette and Prairie du Chien, Wis., or to the north, crossing the river on Highway 14 between La Crescent, Minn., and La Crosse, Wis.
“The Iowa 9/WI 82 Mississippi River Bridge is currently closed after our monitoring system detected movement in one of the piers that exceeded safety thresholds,” the Iowa DOT posted this weekend on social media. “The bridge will remain closed while we validate the sensor data and conduct a thorough engineering analysis to determine if it is safe to reopen. We expect to have more information by the end of the week and will provide updates as soon as possible.”
A replacement for the Black Hawk Bridge, which opened in 1931, is being built just yards away — and its construction may be the cause of the problems.
The bridge was closed at the end of February 2024 after some its piers shifted. The nearby construction likely played a role in causing instability in the old bridge, an Iowa DOT project manager said at the time.
The bridge was closed for nearly two months, and the state began offering a ferry service to shuttle people — but not their vehicles — across the river. The emergency repairs included two new piers and four spans of decking, costing about $2.65 million.
The seven-day-a-week water taxi service ended when the bridge was reopened. The department estimated the cost of providing the service, operated by a tour company from Marquette, was $255,000.
The new bridge is expected to open in 2027.
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