Black Hawk Bridge

Black Hawk Bridge
Coordinates	43°21′55″N91°12′54″W / 43.36528°N 91.21500°W / 43.36528; -91.21500
Carried	2 lanes of Iowa 9  / WIS 82
Crossed	Upper Mississippi River
Locale	Lansing, Iowa and Crawford County, Wisconsin, River Mile 663.4
Other name	Lansing Bridge
Maintained by	Iowa Department of Transportation
ID number	NBI 000000000013520
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever through truss
Total length	1,653 feet (504 m)
Width	21 feet (6 m), 2 lanes
Longest span	653 feet (199 m)
Clearance below	68 feet (21 m)
History
Opened	June 17, 1931
Closed	October 20, 2025
Demolished	December 19, 2025
Statistics
Daily traffic	2,357 (2003)
Toll	None
Location
Interactive map of Black Hawk Bridge

The Black Hawk Bridge spanned the Mississippi River, joining the town of Lansing, in Allamakee County, Iowa, to rural Crawford County, Wisconsin. It was demolished with explosives on December 19, 2025.

Named for Chief Black Hawk, it was popularly referred to as the "Lansing bridge". It carried Iowa Highway 9 and Wisconsin Highway 82. It was the northernmost Mississippi River bridge in Iowa.

This riveted cantilever through truss bridge ^[1] had one of the more unusual designs of any Mississippi River bridge. Construction started in 1929 and was completed in 1931. The designer and chief engineer was Melvin B. Stone. The McClintic-Marshall Company of Chicago erected the trusses. The steel came from the Inland Steel Company.

The bridge had five reinforced concrete piers. Pier 2 and Pier 3, which were the critical piers in the river, were founded on 143 timber piles, each at least 40 feet long. The piles did not reach the river bedrock. Scour had been observed around and beneath the piers. Iowa DOT had dumped large stone against the bottom of the pier to maintain the bridge pier integrity.

The Wisconsin approach had a long causeway over Winneshiek bottoms (sloughs, ponds, and backwaters) before ramping up to the bridge itself. The main shipping channel is on the Iowa side. The Iowa approach was rather abrupt, going from a 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) city street straight up a steep ramp onto the bridge.

Originally a privately built and operated bridge owned by the Iowa-Wisconsin Bridge Company, it was closed between 1945 and 1957, due to damage from ice damming, and lacking funds to repair the bridge, the company went out of business. The two states acquired the bridge and repaired it.

Closure

The bridge was subject to periodic closures: in August 2011 the bridge was briefly closed for repairs after a crack was found in a floor beam. ^{[2] [3]}

The Iowa Department of Transportation temporarily closed the Black Hawk Bridge on Highway 82 on February 25, 2024, citing structural integrity concerns following movement of two bridge piers. The department performed emergency repairs of the bridge, ^[4] which was reopened to traffic on April 20, 2024. ^[5] On May 18, 2025, the bridge was closed again due to a shifting pier, ^[6] with a temporary passenger-only water taxi service beginning June 4, 2025. ^[7] The bridge was re-opened June 9, 2025; additional closes were expected related to construction of the new bridge. ^[8] The old bridge permanently closed on October 20, 2025, to safely allow for continued construction of the new bridge and demolition of the old bridge; leaving no direct road crossing for about 2 years. ^{[9] [10]} A temporary car ferry service across the river began November 3, 2025. ^[11] The bridge was ultimately imploded on December 19, 2025, with its large central superstructure dropped into the Mississippi River. ^{[12] [13]}

Old Black Hawk Bridge from Wisconsin to Iowa

The old Black Hawk Bridge road was narrow.

Replacement

See also: List of bridge types

The old bridge had a sufficiency rating of 39.9 percent, which mainly reflected its obsolete nature. The Iowa Department of Transportation began planning for a replacement bridge, with feasibility studies beginning in 2004. ^{[14] [15]} It was revealed during a meeting on June 15, 2021, that the replacement bridge's design would look extremely similar to the current bridge's design while either retaining the pier's design or adopting a newer wave design. ^[16] A design similar to the original bridge was ultimately chosen; construction of the new bridge began in September 2023. ^[12]

Lansing (Black Hawk Bridge) construction and temporary closure of the old bridge, February 27, 2024.

In popular culture

The old bridge was featured in a scene from the 1999 film The Straight Story , when Alvin Straight is depicted crossing the Mississippi River near the end of his 240-mile (386 km) journey. ^[17]

See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa
• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Wisconsin

Notes

1. "Cantilevered truss". Bridgehunter.com.
2. "Iowa 9 bridge closed over the Mississippi River at Lansing". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
3. "Iowa DOT to reopen Iowa 9 bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing today". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
4. James, Kyle (February 26, 2024). "Black Hawk Bridge on Highway 82 Shut Down for Safety Inspection". Iowa Pulse. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
5. "Black Hawk Bridge back open to traffic after repairs are completed, bridge tested". The Standard Newspaper. April 24, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
6. "Safety concerns shut down bridge crossing Mississippi River into Iowa". WPR. May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
7. "Free water taxi service set to launch Wednesday while Black Hawk Bridge is closed". News8000.com. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
8. "Lansing, Iowa, bridge over the Mississippi River reopens, but more closures are coming". The Des Moines Register. June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
9. "Lansing bridge will close tomorrow, more than a year ahead of new bridge's opening". The Gazette . Cedar Rapids, Iowa. October 17, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
10. "Iowa 9/WIS 82 Mississippi River Crossing Project Announces Bridge Closure Date and Plans for Car Ferry Service". Iowa Department of Transportation. October 7, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
11. "Wisconsin Department of Transportation Car ferry begins Monday at WIS 82 / IA 9 Mississippi River Crossing". Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
12. "Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
13. Press, The Associated (December 19, 2025). "Implosion will take down a nearly century-old Mississippi River bridge between Iowa and Wisconsin". MPR News. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
14. Cantine-Maxson, Susan (August 16, 2017). "Public learns more at August 8 meeting about Iowa DOT study for potential replacement of Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing". The Standard Newspaper. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
15. "Iowa 9 (Black Hawk) Bridge In Allamakee County to be Discussed May 15 in Lansing". Iowa Department of Transportation. May 3, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
16. Cantine-Maxson, Susan (June 23, 2021). "June 15 meeting by Iowa DOT reveals location and design of Black Hawk Bridge replacement, explains environmental assessment". The Standard Newspaper. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
17. Lynch, James Q. (October 15, 1998). "Mower man film rolling". The Gazette . Cedar Rapids, Iowa . Retrieved July 23, 2018.

References

• Iowa Department of Transportation, retrieved July 28, 2007
• Black Hawk Bridge Superb site, with pictures and statistics, retrieved July 28, 2007
• NationalBridges.com, retrieved August 7, 2007
• Black Hawk Bridge at Structurae . Retrieved July 28, 2007.
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IA-43, " Black Hawk Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River at State Highway 9, Lansing, Allamakee County, IA ", 13 photos, 1 color transparency, 11 data pages, 1 photo caption page.
• Lansing Bridge Project – Iowa Department of Transportation.