by Highway 82 has been carried across the Mississippi River into and out of Lansing, Iowa on the Black Hawk Bridge since 1930. Now, it’s about to succumb to a replacement.
Bridges over the Mississippi do more than simply span a river. They cross one of the longest, busiest rivers in the world, connecting two sections of the United States – we always hear “west of the Mississippi/east of the Mississippi” – and they often have unique designs.
The Black Hawk Bridge is no exception. Carrying Wisconsin Highway 82 across the main channel of the Mississippi and connecting rural Crawford County, Wisconsin with the small town of Lansing, Iowa, this bridge opened in 1931. The riveted cantilever through truss design is one of the more unusual styles you’ll see on any bridge, much less an important crossing of the Mississippi. The only crossing on a 60-mile stretch between Prairie du Chien and La Crosse on the Wisconsin side, its opened as a toll bridge until an ice breaker caused a jam on the bridge’s approach in March of 1945, forcing its closure. It didn’t reopen until 1957 after the purchase and rehab of the bridge by the states of Wisconsin and Iowa. Structural issues forced periodic closures of the bridge over the past 10 years, and the decision was finally made to replace it with a new bridge that is currently under construction. And sadly, the existing bridge has to be closed and demolished in order for safe completion of the new bridge.
The original Black Hawk Bridge really does catch the eye; it appears to have a separate truss bridge in its midst, which has often confused people, looking as though it’s not supported properly. The narrow lanes and steel cage pavement necessitates a 25mph speed limit and a tight squeeze against oncoming traffic, especially with trucks. The Wisconsin side has a long approach through Winneshiek Bottoms, a mushy area of sloughs, backwaters, and ponds – great for fishing and mosquitoes – before gradually ramping up to the main channel bridge. Conversely, the Iowa side is abrupt turn right onto the bridge ramp off Iowa Highways 9 and 26, which run right by the Iowa riverbank. When traveling west into Iowa, the end of the bridge is basically the stop sign at the intersection; this is the end of Wisconsin Highway 82 as well.
The Black Hawk Bridge is locally referred to as the Lansing Bridge, since it dives right into Lansing, Iowa. The new bridge will be directly next to it, so the approaches will remain essentially the same.
The new bridge for Highway 82 won’t likely open until 2027
The replacement for the original Black Hawk Bridge will take a while; they say it will take until 2027 to finish everything, and we still don’t know if its Indigenous name reference to Chief Black Hawk will remain the same. The bridge will be wider, safer, and a faster crossing. For now with the original bridge’s closure, options including car ferries – which have been used before – are being considered. We will keep you posted! In the meantime, we say goodbye to an old friend… the original Black Hawk Bridge. It will close permanently the morning of Monday, October 20th.
PBS Wisconsin did a piece on the bridge over the summer:
We’ll miss the original Black Hawk Bridge, and hope reliable ferry service can help the communities on both sides. And we look forward to the new bridge, hopefully to open ahead of the current schedule and complete Highway 82 once again into Iowa!
