US Sen. Grassley: Mississippi Bridge at Lansing Example of Need to Address Aging Infrastructure
The push continues to re-open the current Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing.
The bridge has been closed since February 25th when the Iowa DOT determined there was movement in two existing bridge piers. Crews from Kramer North America have been working to stabilize the impacted piers to re-open the bridge as quickly as possible, with the end of April as their target. Although, officials stress it will not reopen until it is deemed safe.
Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have joined forces with Wisconsin Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson to support a speedy reopening of the bridge. Grassley says the closure has meant inconvenience to an estimated 2,200 vehicles that cross the bridge daily.
However, Grassley puts the closure in perspective.
The closure of the current bridge at Lansing comes while a new replacement bridge is being built at the same time. Grassley says the situation is an example of the need to upgrade aging infrastructure.
Until the current bridge is fixed, the Iowa and Wisconsin DOTs are covering the costs to provide water taxi service for people to cross the Mississippi. The service is available free of charge, seven days a week.
