It doesn't take any bridge expertise to spot the suspended span is in this cantilever bridge!
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| Photo from HAER IOWA,3-LANS,1--4 from ia0419 |
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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 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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| Karen 'Cab' Mathis shared Dave Mathis took a great picture! |
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| Sean C. Clancy posted |
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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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| Linda Tauke posted |
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| Comments on Linda's post |
Bridge Hunter comments:
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.
Black Hawk Bridge
Closed due to concerns about the effects of high water on the bottomland road on Wisconsin side. [Flood of 2019]
Black Hawk Bridge
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...
http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Highway-82-closed-between-I...
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| Dedecation Booklet via Historic Bridges, p20 |
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| Dedecation Booklet via Historic Bridges, p29 |
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.
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| IaDOT via WaukonStandard, 2017 |
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| IaDOT via WaukonStandard, 2017 |
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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| 2004 Feasibility Study, p2-7 |
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| 2004 Feasibility Study, p2-14 |
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| ? |
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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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| Street View, Jul 2018 |
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| safe_image for Best Times to be on Main Street in Downtown Lansing |
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| Iowa Road Trip posted Black Hawk Bridge lit up at night in Lansing, Iowa Brian Abeling / Iowa Road Trip More on Lansing, Iowa: https://iowaroadtrip.net/things-to-do-in-lansing-iowa/ 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.] |
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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.
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| 11:53 video @ 0:36 |
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]
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| 28:51 video |
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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| @ 22:36 |
%20Bridging%20Generations%20-%20The%20Story%20of%20the%20Black%20Hawk%20Bridge%20-%20YouTube.png) |
| @ 23:29 |
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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! |
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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