Iowa DOT offering free water taxi and shuttle service during closure of Black Hawk Bridge, plans for repair or reopening “not finalized” as of yet

Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials have announced that a free water taxi and shuttle service connecting Lansing and De Soto, WI will be starting this Wednesday, June 4, and that service will be available during the closure of the Black Hawk Bridge, which began May 17 when pier movement was detected. Within the Monday, June 2 announcement of the availability of the water taxi service, DOT officials also offered the following statement in regard to the continued closure of the Black Hawk Bridge:

“Iowa DOT is reviewing findings from the most recent engineering study and is evaluating ongoing construction for the new bridge which is occurring near the existing bridge. The department has not finalized any repair or reopening plans for the existing bridge.”

Iowa DOT District Engineer Clayton Burke, project manager for the new Mississippi River bridge project, provided some further insight into the bridge closure. Monday afternoon, June 2, he addressed the cause of the closure and what is currently being considered in regard to the closure, noting that a plan for both bridges moving forward, based on that engineering study, is anticipated to be released the early part of next week.

“It is impossible to say what is really going on under the sand, but the movement of the bridge aligns well with nearby construction activity,” Burke offered. “To remedy this, we have stopped all pile driving work while we review and analyze the condition of the existing bridge. We just received the analysis from our engineering team this morning, and Iowa DOT management is using this report to decide how to move forward with the closure of the bridge and construction of the new bridge.”

A You Tube video has been circulating within the past week featuring civil and geological engineer Casey Jones, Technical Director at Foundation Testing and Consulting, LLC in Overland Park, KS, providing his assessment of the pier movement and bridge closure. Jones’ You Tube channel, Casey Jones - Professional Engineer, features his assessments of a variety of projects, issues and other engineering matters worldwide, based on his 30-plus years of engineering experience.

When asked about the video and its content, Burke explained, “Casey Jones made some very valid points in a broad sense, but they were not practical for this specific project.”

WATER TAXI DETAILS
The free water taxi and shuttle service will be available Monday through Saturday each week, but will not be available Sundays. Scheduled departures will start as early as 6:45 a.m. and end at 5:37 p.m. A complete schedule can be found on Page 27 of this week’s edition of The Standard.

The service includes designated vehicle parking areas at the Lansing City Hall in Iowa, and the De Soto Community Center in Wisconsin. From those locations, a shuttle will drive passengers to the river landings where the water taxi will cross the river.

The water taxi service will be accessible to all riders and will shuttle them between the Lansing Marina in Iowa and Big Slough Landing in Wisconsin, just on the other side of the Black Hawk Bridge. The dock for the service was installed by DOT maintenance staff at the Big Slough Landing the middle of last week in anticipation of releasing the schedule this week. All riders must get off of the water taxi at each stop.

The service is free for all passengers. Locations, schedules, and other details and are available online at https://iowadot.gov/modes-travel/roads-highways/major-construction-proje.... Iowa DOT is working with service providers Maiden Voyage Tours; Running, Inc.; and EARL Public Transit to offer this option.

DOT officials closed the bridge late Saturday night, May 17 after movement was detected by a multi-faceted monitoring system within one of the bridge piers beyond what is deemed typical and safe, according to DOT standards. A follow-up land survey process was completed Monday, May 19 that validated the monitoring system readings that indicated movement of the bridge pier. That validation then initiated a “very detailed and thorough analysis” to determine the safety of the bridge and the next steps required to be taken in order to open the bridge back up, with that process involving a variety of analytical calculations.

Iowa DOT officials further explained that a bridge inspection team was brought on site Thursday, May 22 to climb, walk and thoroughly go over each section of the bridge to make sure the pier movement had not led to any damage to the bridge itself. That physical bridge inspection data is now being analyzed and compared with the engineering data gathered in regard to the bridge to determine the overall safety level of the bridge and a future course of action in regard to it reopening or any repairs that may be deemed necessary.

In addition to the water taxi, motorists are also encouraged by the DOT to use the nearest bridge crossings at La Crescent, MN/La Crosse, WI, or at Marquette/Prairie du Chien, WI to cross the Mississippi River during the Black Hawk Bridge closure. Marked detours will be in place soon on both the Iowa and Wisconsin sides of the bridge for motorists.

DOT officials also issued a warning Monday morning, May 26 that the closure of the Black Hawk Bridge means complete closure to any type of crossing of the bridge, bicycles and pedestrian traffic included. They said that reports have been received that there have been individuals who have gone around the barricades to walk or bike on the bridge, which is considered to be an illegal activity and is punishable by law.

For more information on the construction of the new Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing, go to iowadot.gov/lansingbridge and sign up to receive updates directly to an email inbox or check out the bridge project’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LansingBridge/. Updates on the Black Hawk Bridge closure can also be found at 511ia.org.

“Thank you again to all who use the bridge for your patience and understanding as we determine the next step to safely get you across the Mississippi River,” DOT officials released in their most recent update.