Northeast Bridge Projects: Two Finished, One Near Completion, One Gets Ferry Service
A pair of bridge projects in northeast Iowa was recently completed, another could be finished by the end of the month, and a ferry service is now in place in absence of a bridge to cross the Mississippi River.
Pete Hjelmstad, with the Mason City District office of the Iowa DOT, says the Highway 18 bridge over the Wapsipinicon River, between Charles City and New Hampton, was opened to two-lane traffic in both directions on November 4th. The bridge deck overlay began in mid-July and was targeted for completion in late October.
Meanwhile, construction of a new Highway 3 bridge over the Cedar River in Waverly is pushing towards completion, which Hjelmstad says is expected to open by the end of November. That project has been challenged by wet conditions, including flooding, since before it even started.
It was initially scheduled to begin July 1, 2024, but Mother Nature delayed it by over a month. Other periods of high water on the Cedar since also interrupted construction. Still, the bridge’s opening will only be delayed by about a month.
A new Highway 3 bridge just west of Oelwein also recently opened to two-way traffic.
The existing Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing has been closed since October 20th and a ferry service to transport vehicles and people across the river to Wisconsin and back began November 3rd.
Hjelmstad says, during the first week of the service from November 3rd to November 9th, almost 2,500 vehicles crossed the river, an average of just over 350 vehicles per day. The total number of passengers for the first week exceeded 3,700, an average of about 530 passengers daily.
