Bridge connecting Wisconsin to Iowa over Mississippi River will be demolished

A bridge over the Mississippi River that has twice been closed over safety concerns will close this fall and be demolished.

Construction began in 2023 on a replacement for the Black Hawk Bridge, which connects rural southwest Wisconsin to Lansing, Iowa. It’s the only river crossing in the 60-mile stretch of state Highway 35 between La Crosse and Prairie du Chien.

The aging bridge has largely remained open while work was underway on the new crossing, which is set to open in late 2027. 

But on Monday, the Iowa Department of Transportation announced the 94-year-old bridge will be permanently closed this fall.

“We’ve come to a point where we can no longer continue construction of the new bridge and maintain the existing bridge while considering the safety of the public as well as the safety of the workers driving these piling next to the existing bridge,” said Clayton Burke, project manager for the Iowa DOT. 

The bridge has been temporarily closed twice during construction because of safety concerns.

It shut down for three weeks earlier this summer after a sensor detected movement in one of the bridge’s support piers. It also closed in early 2024 when work on the new crossing caused two piers to slide out of place. 

The statement from the Iowa DOT said the decision to shut down the bridge came after “extensive discussions between both state DOTs, the contractor, and additional analyses.” 

“If we don’t close it now, that just means that the opening of the new bridge will be that much later,” Burke said.

About 2,250 vehicles use the Black Hawk Bridge every day.

Shannon Schultz, the owner of The Bright Spot, a restaurant in De Soto, said she often uses the bridge to travel to Lansing.

“There’s a Kwik Trip over there, a nice little grocery store, a hardware store,” Schultz said. “It’s handy for us.”

Schultz is concerned about the impact of the bridge closure on her restaurant.

“We have a lot of seniors and customers who come from Iowa,” she said. “So yeah … it’s a big concern for everybody.” 

Kyle Kozelka, the highway commissioner for Crawford County, said longer commutes will be an immediate impact of the closure.

“There’s a lot of people that live on one side of the river and work on the other, same with people whose kids go to school,” Kozelka said.

However, Kozelka said he believes some residents are also looking forward to using a replacement to the nearly century-old bridge.

“You know, a lot of people get butterflies or they’re a little scared going over it,” he said.

The Iowa DOT operated a free water taxi and shuttle service across the river when the bridge was closed in May and June. Burke said they might use that service again starting in the fall, but the agency is working to find a car ferry and possible landing sites.

“There are a lot of logistics to work through and several challenges to get past to actually get that in operation, but it is something that we are very actively working on,” Burke said. 

The exact date of the closure will be announced later. Burke said the bridge could be closed “sometime in October,” depending on the approval of the demolition plan.

During the demolition, parts of the bridge will be imploded with explosives, Burke said.

“After the implosion, the contractor will quickly pull all of the pieces of steel and concrete out of the river, so everyone can continue to use the channel safely,” according to a project update from the Iowa DOT.