My Last Look
Contractors working on the new Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing Iowa imploded the center and east spans of the old Black Hawk Bridge on December 19th, 2025, severing the 94-year connection of this classic truss structure. The bridge was originally to remain open while it's replacement was completed, but issues with too much movement of the old bridge while the new was being constructed nearby meant that it was closed a couple years earlier than originally intended.
The classic bridge has long been an interesting experience to cross for generations of area residents, and a neat bridge to photograph. Since it's demise was well-publicized, on a recent trip to La Crosse in early December I took the "long way 'round" and got a chance to see it one last time. Conveniently I arrived town right as a CPKC train 883 did - coal loads for the Portage, WI power plant, with the rear DPU seen shoving under the west span. The bridge has been a great prop and occasional photo platform for lots of railroad photographers over the years.
Some "drop under" sunlight on a crisp winter morning helped to light up the old bridge nicely. Out on the water, the barge pushing away from the camera is a construction barge, but the small one in the center right coming towards us is the temporary car ferry the DOT is utilizing as a replacement for the bridge. It's free and runs roughly every half hour in each direction - if you are in the area I highly recommend taking a ride across sometime in the next year or so as the new bridge takes shape above it's path. And there aren't many chances to ride on the upper Mississippi River for free!
When the bridge was imploded, they left the west span and will remove that with more typical methods because it spans the railroad and is near houses. The new bridge is starting to take shape behind the pier seen in this photo, and will have a similar truss look to the old structure (the result of a big push by the local community that actually influenced the DOT to change the design from a more standard arch bridge type early on in their planning). But since it won't have a deck of open-grate metal you could see down through, nor the suddenly vertical break-over on either side of the main center arch span that gave one a bit of a jolt when driving over it, the new bridge will likely lack a bit of the "character" of the old.
My Last Look
Contractors working on the new Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing Iowa imploded the center and east spans of the old Black Hawk Bridge on December 19th, 2025, severing the 94-year connection of this classic truss structure. The bridge was originally to remain open while it's replacement was completed, but issues with too much movement of the old bridge while the new was being constructed nearby meant that it was closed a couple years earlier than originally intended.
The classic bridge has long been an interesting experience to cross for generations of area residents, and a neat bridge to photograph. Since it's demise was well-publicized, on a recent trip to La Crosse in early December I took the "long way 'round" and got a chance to see it one last time. Conveniently I arrived town right as a CPKC train 883 did - coal loads for the Portage, WI power plant, with the rear DPU seen shoving under the west span. The bridge has been a great prop and occasional photo platform for lots of railroad photographers over the years.
Some "drop under" sunlight on a crisp winter morning helped to light up the old bridge nicely. Out on the water, the barge pushing away from the camera is a construction barge, but the small one in the center right coming towards us is the temporary car ferry the DOT is utilizing as a replacement for the bridge. It's free and runs roughly every half hour in each direction - if you are in the area I highly recommend taking a ride across sometime in the next year or so as the new bridge takes shape above it's path. And there aren't many chances to ride on the upper Mississippi River for free!
When the bridge was imploded, they left the west span and will remove that with more typical methods because it spans the railroad and is near houses. The new bridge is starting to take shape behind the pier seen in this photo, and will have a similar truss look to the old structure (the result of a big push by the local community that actually influenced the DOT to change the design from a more standard arch bridge type early on in their planning). But since it won't have a deck of open-grate metal you could see down through, nor the suddenly vertical break-over on either side of the main center arch span that gave one a bit of a jolt when driving over it, the new bridge will likely lack a bit of the "character" of the old.