The Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing, a Driftless Area landmark for nearly a century, will close forever at 7 AM on Oct. 20. Stories: Des Moines Register, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, KCRG (short clip), Iowa DOT press release. The original goal was to keep the bridge open while its replacement was built, but that turned out not to be feasible.
Main Street Lansing is having a daylong farewell celebration on Saturday.
The Iowa and Wisconsin DOTs have worked on establishing a car ferry that will cross the river during the closure period until the new bridge opens sometime in 2027. It’s currently pegged for “spring” but we’re talking northeast Iowa here, so there could be hard ground until April followed by a month of mud.
The La Crosse Tribune reports that the cost of the bridge has gone up from $140 million to $160 million. The free ferry will hold up to 12 cars per trip, the Tribune says.
WIZM radio in La Crosse interviewed the Iowa DOT project manager. Clayton Burke told the station then that the current bridge will be removed by the end of this year, although in August he was thinking early 2026.