__NOTOC__ The Black Hawk Bridge spans the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, joining the town of

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, in

Allamakee County Allamakee County () is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,061. Its county seat is Waukon. History Allamakee County was formed on February 20, 1847. The derivation of the name is ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, to rural

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford Count ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It is the northernmost Mississippi River bridge in Iowa. Named for

Chief Black Hawk Black Hawk, born ''Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak'' (Sauk: ''Mahkatêwe-meshi-kêhkêhkwa'') (1767 – October 3, 1838), was a Sauk leader and warrior who lived in what is now the Midwestern United States. Although he had inherited an important his ...

, it is popularly referred to as the "Lansing bridge". It carries

Iowa Highway 9 Iowa Highway 9 is the most northern of Iowa's east–west highways, traversing the entire northern tier of counties. It runs from the eastern terminus of South Dakota Highway 42 at the South Dakota border east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota near ...

and

Wisconsin Highway 82 State Trunk Highway 82 (often called Highway 82, STH-82 or WIS 82) is a state highway in Wisconsin, United States. It runs east–west in southwest and south central Wisconsin from the Iowa border near Lansing, IA to Oxford. This highway is ...

. This riveted cantilever through truss bridge has one of the more unusual designs of any Mississippi River bridge. Construction started in 1929 and was completed in 1931. The designer and chief engineer was Melvin B. Stone. The McClintic-Marshall Company of Chicago erected the trusses. The steel came from the Inland Steel Company. The Wisconsin approach has a long causeway over Winneshiek bottoms (sloughs, ponds, and backwaters) before ramping up to the bridge itself. The main shipping channel is on the Iowa side. The Iowa approach is rather abrupt, going from a city street straight up a steep ramp onto the bridge. Originally a privately built and operated bridge owned by the Iowa-Wisconsin Bridge Company, it was closed between 1945 and 1957, due to damage from ice damming, and lacking funds to repair the bridge, the company went out of business. The two states acquired the bridge and repaired it. In August 2011 the bridge was briefly closed for repairs after a crack was found in a floor beam. Black Hawk Bridge Iowa - Wisconsin

Replacement

The bridge has a sufficiency rating of 39.9 percent, which mainly reflects its obsolete nature. The Iowa Department of Transportation is planning for a replacement bridge to start construction in 2024. It was revealed during a meeting on June 15, 2021, that the replacement bridge's design would look extremely similar to the current bridge's design while either retaining the pier's design or adopting a newer wave design.

In popular culture

The bridge was featured in a scene from the 1999 film

The Straight Story ''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...

, when Alvin Straight is depicted crossing the Mississippi River near the end of his journey.

Notes

References

Iowa Department of Transportation
retrieved July 28, 2007

Superb site, with pictures and statistics, retrieved July 28, 2007
NationalBridges.com
retrieved August 7, 2007 * * {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Black Hawk Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Mississippi River Bridge , upstream signs = ---- La Crosse West Channel Bridge
, downstream = Pile–Pontoon Railroad Bridge (1874-1961) , downstream signs = Bridges completed in 1931 Bridges in Allamakee County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Crawford County, Wisconsin Bridges over the Mississippi River Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa Historic American Engineering Record in Wisconsin Road bridges in Iowa Road bridges in Wisconsin Great River Road Cantilever bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States

Replacement

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References