In mid-July, after yet another closure to evaluate safety of the Blackhawk Bridge over the Mississippi River, Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced the bridge would be demolished in the Fall of 2025. The new bridge being built right next to the existing structure is estimated to be complete in 2027.

The Black Hawk Bridge is the only Mississippi River crossing between Prairie du Chien and La Crosse. The nearest crossing is U.S. 18 connecting McGregor, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien.

Now, talks are underway about how to minimize the impacts of nearly two years without that crossing on municipalities, commuters, tourism and commerce. Those talks include the city of Lansing, the villages of Ferryville and De Soto, the states of Iowa and Wisconsin, and federal agencies like the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and Fish & Wildlife Services.

“We haven’t been given a firm date for the demolition of the bridge yet, but it could be as soon as mid-October, after the navigation season has ended on the Mississippi River for the season,” Mayor of Lansing Mike Verdon told the Independent-Scout. “There’s lots of steps involved before the historic bridge can be demolished, and the federal agencies involved have to sign off before the demolition can occur.”

Verdon told the Independent-Scout that his office is acting as a clearinghouse for information about the bridge. He confirmed that he has been leading informational meetings between the three municipalities most affected – Lansing, Ferryville and De Soto.

Verdon pointed out that between 2,200 and 2,500 vehicles cross the river on that bridge every day, and more than 8,000 citizens live in the vicinity of the bridge, and rely upon it.

 “I am very optimistic that a car ferry option will be offered as Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has made it a priority, and is pressing IDOT for a solution,” Verdon said. “There’s been lots of discussion about where such a ferry could be located, and things seem to be progressing.”

When asked about whether a car ferry would be a feasible solution during the winter, Verdon had this response:

“The contractor for the new bridge, Kramer Construction, has a barge they use in construction, that was able to keep the construction area clear all last winter, so they believe they can keep a crossing open for a car ferry.”

Mike Novelli, President of the Ferryville Village Board, also seems optimistic about the prospect for a car ferry solution.

“I think we’re all about to experience a significant lifestyle change until the new bridge is completed,” Novelli said. “I’m rooting for the car ferry option, but it’s a heavy lift between negotiating with the Coast Guard, and finding a suitable vessel and a crew. But, I think that residents on both sides of the river are resilient people, and we’ll get through this.”

Update from IDOT

Many have become familiar with IDOT’s Clayton Burke, who is the department’s project manager for the Blackhawk Bridge replacement project. In late July, WDRT 91.9 FM’s Kailean Welsh interviewed Burke about the news that the bridge would be demolished this fall.

“We don't really want to give out a specific date for demolition yet as there are many moving pieces, and they all have to fit together perfectly,” Burke said. “I could say that the absolute earliest the bridge could close is probably around mid-October, and that's if everything goes perfectly and we get all the approvals we need.”

Burke said that right now, they're working on a Demolition Plan, and that takes time to do right and to do safely. He said that in the meantime, they're just waiting for that plan to be completed. When the plan is completed, it will go out to all the local stakeholders, like the Coast Guard, the DNRs, and the railroad that runs underneath the bridge. Burke said that approvals from those agencies and entities will be required before they can actually start on the demolition.

“And that's where it could take some time,” Burke said. “It might be mid-October, or it could be possibly later in the year.”

Safety precautions

Burke explained the steps that had been taken to ensure the old bridge could continue to be safely used during construction of the new bridge.

“One of the biggest challenges has been getting the deep foundations into the ground for the new bridge, right next to the existing bridge,” Burke said. “It started with what we call drilled shafts. So the new bridge sits on these massive, 11.5-foot diameter concrete shafts that go all the way down to bedrock, about 120 feet deep in the middle of the river.

Burke explained that the construction of those shafts had a greater impact on the existing bridge than anybody really anticipated through the pre-design analysis. He said the project team really struggled with what they could do to change how they put the shafts in to still maintain the existing bridge.

 “We found some different options, we kept going, and we kept the bridge open. We did have to do one major repair to the bridge to get it back into its original condition, so it was still safe to operate. But we got through those drilled shafts, and we got them all in the ground,” Burke said. “We all celebrated, and we thought it was a massive milestone.”

But then, Burke said they needed to construct what they call temporary shoring towers. He said those are steel towers that rise up out of the river to set the steel truss on top of while they're building it. He said the towers are much smaller than the drilled shafts. Burke said they’d gone into the river during the repair of the old bridge after the initial closure, and drove piling of the same size right next to the existing piers to make sure that the they could continue construction, and that the piers were not going to move.

“When we constructed these towers and we drove those pilings, we didn't see any movement, and so we developed a lot of confidence that we could continue construction,” Burke remembered. “And then, for whatever reason, now that we're actually to the point at which we need to drive the piling for those temporary shoring towers, the bridge started moving again. So that was a big surprise to us.”

Location of bridge

When asked why the new bridge was being built so close to the old bridge, Burke explained the planning process.

“It really comes down to strict compliance with federal codes, and those federal codes are massive,
 Burke said. “The particular federal codes that impact the project are the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.”

Burke said that on the environmental side, endangered mussel species in the stretch of the river near the bridge were an issue. On the cultural resources side, he said that Lansing is a very culturally resource rich location.

“You have pre-settlement on the bank of the river, with lots of native early history, Native American artifacts, and you even have, I believe, a burial mound near Front Street,” Burke explained. “And then, you have the buildings that are eligible for the National Historic Register. “

Burke explained that all that goes into the consideration for which alignment was picked for the new bridge. He said that in the process, they had looked at several options and had public meetings.

“It really just came down to, we're working within a National Wildlife Refuge, we have several buildings that we cannot disturb, and the only way to comply with those federal codes was to build the new bridge exactly where we're building it,” Burke said.

Bridge demolition

When discussing the actual demolition of the old bridge, Burke explained that the largest challenge they’ll face is the section of the bridge that’s over Lansing’s Front Street and the railroad.

“So a lot of times when you see a Mississippi River Bridge deconstructed, they'll blow up the whole bridge, drop it on the ground, and then pick up the pieces and take them away,” Burke said. “In this case, we can't just blow the bridge up. We have to carefully and strategically take it apart. We're not done with the demolition plan yet, but one method the contractors talked about is actually taking the center section, lowering it onto a barge, and floating that away. Then, the eastern side of the bridge can be imploded while they carefully, piece-by-piece, take the western section apart over the roadway and the railroad.”

Burke said that with the movement of the existing bridge, it may end up being safer to actually implode the bridge, including the intersection with Front Street in Lansing, drop it all in the river, and then scoop it out.

“So, we're waiting on that demolition plan to see what the contractor really comes up with, what's safe and what's practical to do,” Burke said. “But a lot of it just involves explosives, a lot of equipment and a lot of time to get that work done.”

Welsh said that historically, one of the slough bridges on the Lansing Dike had been damaged by ice dams, and so from 1945-1957, the bridge was closed.

“I thought it was very interesting talking to people around Lansing who had just kind of lived by that bridge that went nowhere during those years, and it feels like we're going to have the same type of experience now,” Welsh observed. “You know, the other side of the river is right over there, but we can't quite get there. And, there definitely is a grieving process now as this old bridge is coming down, people are sad.”

Welsh asked if there are plans for any of the pieces of the old bridge after it is demolished?

“So we'll save some of the pins that hold the bridge up currently, and we'll save some of the different steel beams and the plaques that are on the bridge from the original construction,” Burke responded. “Then, the City of Lansing is going to get some of the steel beams, and they're going to cut those steel beams up and make a really nice display out of them in the city park.”

Interim crossing

Welsh asked Burke about what kind of efforts are being made to alleviate some of the stress on the communities of Lansing, Ferryville and De Soto?

“The IDOT is looking into everything that we have authority over to possibly do to alleviate some of that, that stress on the local communities,” Burke said. “Historically, when we've closed the crossing, we've implemented a water taxi and shuttle service. That works okay for a short-term solution, but for a longer period of time it's not the first thing we're looking into. It's pretty inconvenient for people, and it's a big challenge. Over the winter period, you have this open sided pontoon, and when we first implemented it, it was February, and I went out there with everybody else at 7 a.m., and it was just absolutely freezing cold. So we're focusing all of our efforts on finding a car ferry.”

Burke said there are a few locations in Lansing that are being evaluated for a car ferry landing. He said that in Wisconsin, there’s only really one suitable location which is the Army Corps of Engineers beneficial use site where they offload sand.

“If we find two locations that are very close to the construction project, the contractor is already going to be breaking ice to keep the channel open for the construction project. So it may not take much additional effort to break the ice for the ferry service,” Burke explained.