(
Bridge Hunter;
Historic Bridges;
John A. Weeks III;
HAER:
Facebook Group;
Satellite)
It doesn't take any bridge expertise to spot the suspended span is in this cantilever bridge!
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Satellite
[I saved the image because of the construction barges. I learned that in 2013 they added dolphins (pier protection bumpers) and repainted the bridge. But Iowa DOT is working on replacing it. Or just removing it because the traffic density is so low.] |
Then, as now, the bridge consisted of a three-span cantilevered
through truss of approximately 1,127', comprised of two
cantilevered units of about 415' and one suspended span of about
297'. Each cantilevered unit consists of an anchor arm of about
237' with a cantilever of about 178'. The two cantilevers and
the suspended span provide a channel crossing of about 653'. The
cantilevered units are carried by concrete piers supported by
foundation piles. The bridge was originally about 25' wide with an approximately 22' roadway. [HAER, pp3-4
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| John Weeks III |
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Iowa Road Trip posted
A view of the Black Hawk Bridge from Mt Hosmer in Lansing, Iowa |
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Iowa Road Trip posted
Black Hawk Bridge Located in Lansing, Iowa, the Black Hawk Bridge is referred to as the "singing bridge". Here's how it looks at night when it's lit up. |
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| Obert Johnson commented on the above post |
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| Bob Campagna commented on the above post |
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Iowa Road Trip posted
Ross McIntyre: Sometime this winter, a gentleman told me how, when he was younger, his friends dared him to jump off that bridge into the river, so he did. He swam out and walked home. I guess there may have been fair amount of alcohol consumed that evening. Tony Scheidel: Ross McIntyre my friend Jon did NOT survive the jump. |
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Jared S Kiley posted
BlackHawk Bridge just before sunrise this morning in Lansing. |
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Michael Coyle posted
Lansing and the Blackhawk Bridge |
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Allyson Crotty posted
Black Hawk Bridge - Lansing, IA. Shot in night mode on iPhone 11 Pro, edited to black and white with Snapseed. |
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Gabby Hayes commented on Allyson's post, cropped
Snapseed is a great app. This is the Bayview Bridge in Quincy, Illinois, taken with a Galaxy phone and processed with Snapseed. |
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Gavin Garcia posted
Black Hawk Bridge Lansing, Iowa |
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John Rethwisch posted
CP Railroad #8710, southbound along the Mississippi at Lansing, Iowa on a sunshine filled October afternoon. |
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Betsy Stahl posted
Black Hawk Bridge, Lansing |
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Craig Chumbley posted
Mount Hosmer Park in Lansing has to have the one of best views of any city park in the Midwest. Looking downstream at the Mississippi River with the Blackhawk Bridge in the foreground. |
This is obviously a popular vantage point.
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| Cheryl Tobin Kiernam commented on Linda's post |
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| Comments on Linda's post |
Bridge Hunter comments:
Black Hawk Bridge
Posted April 27, 2019, by Don
Closed due to concerns about the effects of high water on the bottomland road on Wisconsin side. [Flood of 2019]
Black Hawk Bridge
Posted June 2, 2017, by Don Morrison
Blackhawk bridge has reopened after being closed due to road washout(leading to a fatal accident) on the Wisconsin side.
http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Highway-82-closed-between-I...
Many times the suspended span is built on barges then floated under the bridge and lifted into place. Evidently, if the cantilever leaves are strong enough to hold a live load, they are strong enough to hold an additional dead load during construction.
Steel is strong enough in tension that just a couple of tie bars can hold one end of the suspended span.
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One of four photos posted by Pat Lane
American Princess going under Blackhawk Bridge in Lansing, Iowa @1PM today!!! Thanks evil eye Talene Harmon Eddelson, we almost missed it!!
Madison Berry: That’s not American princess it’s American Duchess |
Iowa DOT is studying how to replace the bridge. This is actually good news because some comments indicated that they were seriously considering tearing down the old bridge and not replacing it. I wonder if they would run a ferry or if they would require people to travel to either La Crosse or Prairie du Chien. Both are 40 miles away.
When asked if the current bridge could be kept for pedestrians and bicyclists if a new one was built, a DOT official responded that the DOT is not in the business of maintaining unused bridges. If the bridge was to be kept, it would need to be purchased by a group or an individual who would maintain it as a private enterprise.
[Reporter Susan Cantine-Maxson via WaukonStandard]
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2004 Feasibility Study, p2-15
[This shows why the Coast Guard has told the railroads to replace their swing bridges with lift or high-level bridges.] |
They didn't have 18-wheelers with 53' trailers back in 1931.
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Iowa Road Trip posted
Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing, Iowa.
Anthony Clark: It is literally one of a kind. Amongst the rarest and most historically significant bridges in existence. Multiple elements each make it rare and unique on their own - combined, the uniqueness is off the charts. At first, it appears to be a continouos cantilever truss. It is actually three separate spans. Two cantilever trusses with a center Pennsylvania truss. The center Pennsylvania truss is not connected to the cantilever spans at the top. It is only connected via the road deck at the bottom. It is just hanging in the air. The long approach span on the Wisconsin side appears to be a simple viaduct. It is not. It is a six span Pratt through truss with the road deck on top of the trusses rather than passing through them. Multi-span Pratt through trusses have become increasingly rare. There is one five span and one four span remaining in Iowa. A six span is unheard of. So, the Wisconsin approach alone is unbelievably rare. Add that to the one-of-a-kind main span and this bridge needs to be saved at any and all costs.
[Actually, a cantilever truss with a suspended span is the norm. It is just not as obvious as this one that the middle span is suspended.] |
I looked for the 6-span approach viaduct on a satellite map, but I could not find it. There is a non-trivial bridge over a backwater, but it is not six spans. I saw shoulders on the approach except for some small bridges.
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Iowa Road Trip posted
Black Hawk Bridge lit up at night in Lansing, Iowa Brian Abeling / Iowa Road Trip Kari Berg: Soon to be gone. Sigh. [Written in Nov 2024.] |
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Mark Hanson for Iowa commented on the above post
[We can see that some cranes have started on the replacement.] |
Jan Danielsen
posted four photos with the comment: "Blackhawk bridge Lansing, Iowa--Wisconsin. Going over and under in the past --many times through the years--while fishing that beautiful area. Won't be long and that bridge will be gone."
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Bridges Now and Then posted
The Black Hawk Bridge, Lansing, Iowa, Summer, 1995. (HAER/Joe Elliott) Thanks, Anna!
Chad D. Roberson: It's being torn down right now [Sep 23, 2025], I went over it in January. |
New Bridge
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Iowa Department of Transportation posted
Congratulations to Construction Category winner Pete Hjelmstad for his outstanding eye to capture this Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing worksite!
[Some comments provide the link: https://iowadot.gov/lansingbridge/Home.] |
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| Dan Knupp commented on IDOT's post |
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David Webster posted
Bob Reynolds: Lansing, IA. |
May 17, 2025, an emergency closure.
This video is mostley platitudes. (How many of us need to be told that briges are important?) I did learn that it was closed 1945-57 because the bridge company couild not afford to repair damage from an ice flow. [
10:29]
Every DOT holds public meetings. In this case, it looks like the Iowa and Wisconsin DOT's actually listened to the public.
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14:31 video @ 1:08
It was closed from May 7 to Jun 9, 2025, because movement was detected at the pier of the old bridge when a tower was being installed to help build the new bridge. |
June 9, 2025:
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DriftlessMode posted 0:24 video
LOOK! THE LANSING BRIDGE IS OPEN!
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Jul 15, 2025: It didn't stay open for very long!
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KCRG-TV9 posted
The Lansing Bridge over the Mississippi River is set to be demolished in the coming months. However, the new bridge won’t open until 2027, leaving a significant period of time with no bridge access. Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/fad67rsh
"Both states will continue with visible alternative routes. The nearest crossing is U.S. 18 connecting McGregor, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin."
[According to Google Maps, it takes 35 minutes to drive from Lansing to McGregor.]
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Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing posted
We want to update you on a revised plan for the existing Mississippi River Bridge. After extensive engineering analysis and talks between Iowa and Wisconsin DOTs and the contractor, we've determined that future construction stages on the new bridge could pose a safety risk to the existing bridge. So, this fall (2025) crews will close and demolish it so we can safely continue our work and meet the deadline for the 2027 opening of the new bridge. The safety of all of you, the construction workers, rail traffic, and Mississippi River traffic is our #1 concern. Our teams are working on alternative river crossings to help everyone make this transition. We'll announce the exact closure date later in the year, but here are the details at this point. Thank you for your support and understanding! Brittany Grover: Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing Please set up a car ferry like they used between Prairie du Chien and Marquette during that bridge construction. The water taxi is not practical for most people working or visiting in towns across the river. [One of the issues is ice in the Winter. A comment on another post said he pushed a barge to clear ice for a ferry operation.] |
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32:12 video
What the problems with bridge construction in Iowa has to do with the Washington Bridge in R.I.
The bridge carries about 2,500 vehicles a day, and the detour is 70 miles or about an extra 90 minutes. [3:33] |
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Roger Deschner posted
My last trip across the amazing, historic Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing, Iowa, USA. Sadly, it will be demolished very soon. Photo is from Mt. Hosmer. First video is westbound; second is eastbound. Turn your sound up to hear the metal grate deck sing.
When they demolish the historic bridge in October, for at least a whole year, there will be no crossing except for a rather small capacity ferry. Bypasses require a drive to either Prairie du Chen or LaCrosse. They're waiting to get the ferry ready before they demolish this beautiful bridge. At least the new bridge will also be a cantilever steel through truss, except wider for both traffic above and boats underneath. I'm glad I got to document it before it's gone! |
The new bridge also reduces the grade of the approach.
I could not resist adding this unique view of a crane.
Another truss and crane view.
Most of the video is just this scene.
Oct 7: It is scheduled to close Oct 20.
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KCRG-TV9 posted
We now know the final day vehicles will be able to drive over the Mississippi River on the Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing. https://www.kcrg.com/.../final-day-set-black-hawk-bridge.../
""We now know the final day vehicles will be able to drive over the Mississippi River on the Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing - October 20....At that time, the closest bridge to cross from Iowa into Wisconsin will be 30 miles away between Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and Marquette, Iowa. The next closest bridge is to the north, between La Crosse, Wisconsin and La Crescent, Minnesota....But ferry service won’t start until early November. Federal and state agencies issued permits and environmental clearances for the ferry. But now crews are currently building ferry landings for cars to access the boat. Those are being built at the Lansing Marina, as well as just south of the new bridge in Wisconsin. The DOT says other work on those areas include “vehicle queuing areas, directional and informational signs, portable changeable message signs, lights, and other features.” Work must also be done for a railroad crossing in Lansing." |
Les and Nell KVIK
posted two photos with the comment:
***********************
The Black Hawk Bridge will close permanently at 7am on Monday Oct 20th, 2025
Click this link from the Iowa DOT for details:
***************
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| [Whoops, I forgot to acknowledge] |
Oct 20, 2025:
16 photos from a boat |
KTTC TV posted
Lansing Ferry begins service across the Mississippi River "The ferry can hold around 12 cars. Ferries are open seven days a week....Service starts at 5:45 a.m. on the Iowa side, with the last departure at 9:15 p.m....The ferry can carry cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, along with two-axles trucks under 10 tons. It won’t carry trailers, ATVs, UTVs, RVs, buses, or farm equipment....Service hours on holidays, including Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m." |
I saw a lot of videos of the "energetic felling" of the 1931 bridge. I picked this one because it is a good view and it demonstrates the speed of sound is a lot less than light. The bridge is in the water before the boom reaches the camera. This was done Dec 19 so I presume the Upper Mississippi River has closed for the Winter so they have plenty of time to clear the channel.
.jfif) |
TheGazette
The people that came to watch the implosion had to brave frigid temperatures. |
The
Cassville Ferry is closed in the Winter so they are evidently borrowing it for this crossing.
I noted this reel because it also includes the energetic felling of some approach spans.
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| Same Reel |
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DriftlessMode posted
SIMILARITIES - View from the Iowa side of the Mississippi River at Lansing, Iowa. At left is the new bridge under construction. At right is part of what's left of the old Black Hawk Bridge. |
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| Rick Crane commented on the above post |
DriftlessMode
posted four photos with the comment: ICE BREAKING IN ZERO DEGREES - Workers in small tugs and a barge tow keep ice from forming around the new bridge construction site at Lansing, Iowa this morning [Jan 28, 2026]. It's a necessary task for keeping a path for a car ferry to move between Iowa and Wisconsin shores on the Mississippi River. The river here reminded me of an ice cube tray in a refrigerator freezer trying to make cubes."
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Before the energetic felling of the old bridge.
Larry Meyer
posted six photos with the comment: "Manitowoc 4100 ringer on a barge on the Mississippi River."
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Mar 26, 2026:
It looks like he is riding the ferry across the river.
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DriftlessMode posted
LOADED, HEADED FOR WISCONSIN - Another day, another ferry-load of vehicles being shuttled across the Mississippi River from Lansing, Iowa, while new bridge construction is closing the gap! |
May 21, 2026:
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Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing posted
🦅 Memorial Day Ferry Service Update ⛴️✨ **We need to make a correction to our earlier post.** The ferry will NOT be closed on Memorial Day! 📣🇺🇸 THE FERRY WILL OPERATE ON MEMORIAL DAY ON A REDUCED SCHEDULE — 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM 🇺🇸📣 We apologize for the confusion! 🚫 Important Traffic Reminder Please do NOT line up in the marina behind the concrete barriers. There will be heavy marina and Tiki Bar traffic this weekend and throughout the summer, and blocking that area creates safety and congestion issues. 👉 Please follow all posted signs and be courteous and aware of marina and Tiki Bar traffic. Stay safe, enjoy the long weekend, and take a moment to honor and remember those who served. ❤️🤍💙 |
Helen Schwane ONeal
posted three photos with the comment:
Took the ferry from Wisconsin over to Lansing, Iowa, a week and a half ago! It was really something to actually go upstream and underneath where the remaining section will be going. After reaching the Iowa side, we had to wait a few minutes to disembark while the train went by. Such a bustling environment, I loved it! My only regret was not arriving before Coffee on the River closed...I won't make that mistake again! The first photo was taken from the ferry itself. The last photo is taken from the Iowa side and shows the ferry going "under" the new bridge. The actual construction process is simply amazing!
Roger Deschner: The most dramatic event since blowing up the old bridge is coming soon. The center section will be assembled on a barge, floated to the middle of the river, and hoisted into place. This is not unusual at all, but is a frequent technique for building cantilever truss bridges. Both the old and new Lansing bridges are of the cantilever truss design, although the old bridge showed that aspect more obviously.
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DriftlessMode
posted three photos with the comment: "CLOSING THE GAP, REACHING FOR THE OTHER SIDE - It's not only looking like a bridge these days, it's a pretty darn good likeness of the much loved late Black Hawk Bridge. It's interesting how workers have been able to add angles of steel — piece by piece, section by section — to piers on each side of the Mississippi River that, along with the help of cranes, reach to make a final connection one day soon."
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DriftlessMode
posted four photos with the comment: "IRON MEN ON TOP - Bridge workers upriver from the new Lansing, Iowa bridge further assemble another section Sunday morning. That's Gunnar Wiltsie, an ironworker from Tomah, WI, at the very top! The bridge section and cranes are on barges where they are assembled before being added to the rest of the bridge. If heights give you the creeps, just think about the guys up there. At least it wasn't windy!"
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DriftlessMode posted
FINAL SECTION CLOSER TO INSTALLATION - View from the car ferry, photo made late Thursday [Jun 4, 2026] afternoon, looking upriver, shows the final section of the new bridge aimed to be put in place June 11. --Photo by Ellen Modersohn |
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DriftlessMode posted
CENTER SPAN TOO HEAVY FOR CRANES, THEY’LL ‘JACK’ IT UP - Like ironworker correspondent Gunnar Wiltsie wrote in a text, the center section won’t be lifted by cranes. It weighs 1.7 million pounds — they are using a hydraulic system called a “strand jack.” It will take about five hours to raise, using four strand jacks placing one on each corner. Now we know, installation will not be happening over seconds, or even minutes. It’s gonna take a good long while beginning this Thursday. Photos: Construction site of center span next to Lansing City Marina made a week ago and provided by Gunnar Wiltisie. |
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David Job commented on the above post
This picture was taken 2 weeks ago.
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Jun 12, 2026:
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KNEI 103.5 FM Bluff Country posted
Here is the Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing as of 7:29 this morning! |
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When I accessed the livecam it at 4:40 on Jun 15, 2026, the hook on the red crane in the middle was going up. And the crane on the barge on the opposite side of the bridge was leaving.
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| Rick Crane commented on the above post |
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Christa Phillips Hall commented on the above post
Progress… 2:20 |
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Bruce Lehnen commented on the above post
It was 80% in place at 3 pm. |
DriftlessMode posted with the comment: "
UP SHE GOES, THE LAST SPAN - Cellphones and personal memories captured the daylong event. Raising the center span of the new Lansing bridge crossing the Mississippi River between Iowa and Wisconsin — inch-by-inch, it seemed — was completed later on Friday, June 12, 2026. But the weather was good and this was history in the making."  |
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| Renae Adam commented on the above post, cropped |
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Iowa Department of Transportation posted |
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DriftlessMode posted
WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS - The center span in place as of Friday night, this image captured from the Iowa DOT's live EarthCam feed, shows a whole connected bridge. Still, lots to be done. |
Ruthann Gromm-Nedrichs
posted two photos with the comment: "Ferry ride to Lansing Iowa on flag day."
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| Same Reel |
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