Black Hawk Bridge

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**Black Hawk Bridge**
View from northwest, showing Wisconsin shore, with a barge crossing underneath (Library of Congress/HAER)
Carries	2 lanes of Iowa Highway 9 and WI 82
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Lansing, Iowa and Crawford County, Wisconsin
Total length	495 meters (1,653 feet)
Clearance below	21 meters (68 feet)
Opening date	June 17, 1931
Coordinates	43°21′55″N, 91°12′54″W

For other uses of Blackhawk/Black Hawk, see Black Hawk.

The Black Hawk Bridge spans the Mississippi River, joining the town of Lansing, in Allamakee County, Iowa, to rural Crawford County, Wisconsin. Named for Chief Black Hawk, it is popularly referred to as the "Lansing bridge".

This riveted cantilever through truss bridge was started in 1929 and completed in 1931. It carries Iowa Highway 9 and WI 82. The designer and chief engineer was Melvin B. Stone.

The Wisconsin approach has a long causeway over sloughs 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 25 mph city street straight up a steep ramp onto the bridge.

The 1999 movie The Straight Story has aerial footage of the Richard Farnsworth character driving a riding lawn mower across it.

Recent reports indicate that the bridge is at the end of its useful life. It has been suggested that some fixes are possible extending its life into the 2020s, but ultimately, the bridge has to be replaced.