DOT providing water taxi service with Lansing Bridge closed indefinitely

LANSING, Iowa (WLCX) – With the bridge connecting Wisconsin to Iowa in western Wisconsin closed indefinitely, the Iowa Department of Transportation is lining up alternate ways across the Mississippi River.

Beginning June 4, a free water taxi service will be provided to help people cross the river while the Lansing Bridge, also known as the Blackhawk Bridge, is closed.

According to a post from the Iowa Department of Transportation, a shift in one of the 94-year-old bridge’s foundational piers was detected, prompting the May 17 closure. DOT officials are closing the bridge until they can review engineering data to come up with a plan for repairs and reopening.

DOT officials said that there’s no estimated time for reopening the bridge, which was closed last year to have two new piers set and bridge decking replaced after construction on its replacement shifted part of the bridge in late February of 2024. The bridge was re-opened on April 20 of last year.

In the meantime, the estimated 2,200 people who use the bridge each day will have to find a detour if they don’t use the water taxi service. The closure means motorists have to drive over an hour out of the way to cross the Mississippi River by traveling north to La Crosse, Wis. or La Crescent, Minn., or south to Prairie du Chien, Wis. or Marquette, Iowa.

For those using the water taxi service, hourly departures are scheduled Monday through Saturday. Shuttles will run from Lansing’s City Hall to the landings on each side of the river, and then to the De Soto Community Center, and in reverse. There is no service on Sunday. More information is available on the Iowa DOT’s website.

The Lansing Bridge had been closed Feb. 25 to April 20 of last year previously. The current bridge was constructed in 1931. The new bridge will cost $140 million, with about 80 percent coming from federal funding and the rest split between Wisconsin and Iowa. Work began in 2023 on the new bridge, which is expected to open in 2027.