Black Hawk Bridge implosion now moved to this Friday; DOT advises of safety measures

The Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (DOT) have moved the planned implosion for the Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing project to this Friday, December 19, one day later than the originally scheduled date announced more than a week ago. The implosion and removal of the main middle section of the existing bridge has been deemed necessary to allow construction of the new bridge to proceed safely, with a planned opening of the new bridge in 2027.

Iowa DOT District Engineer Clayton Burke, who is the project manager for the Mississippi River bridge project, said the one-day delay had to be implemented due to schedule coordination conflicts between all stakeholders involved. Other than the one-day delay, he said all other aspects of the implosion demolition are scheduled to take place as they were originally planned.

The Iowa DOT will display a livestream of the event at iowadot.gov/lansingbridge. DOT officials encourage people to watch the livestream as a safe and comfortable option. The livestream is video only and does not carry audio.

Due to community interest and the potential for onlookers, the project team is collaborating with the Lansing Police Department, the Allamakee County Sheriff, the Iowa State Patrol, and other local officials to ensure safety for contractors, residents, and the community. There will be strict protocols in the city of Lansing to ensure safety of the public. Failure of the public to comply with the restrictions could impact, delay, or prevent the implosion, and individuals could be held liable for delays.

DOT and project officials noted that drones with thermal imaging capacity will be utilized to detect anyone within the restricted zone. Additional information about the demolition process and the safety protocols in place were presented at the December 11 “Let’s Talk Bridges!” presentation at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library Thursday, December 11, with coverage of that presentation appearing on Page 2 in this week’s edition of The Standard. Officials also offer the following information in regard to Friday’s scheduled implosion:
• The implosion is scheduled for approximately 9:30 a.m. this Friday. However, this time could be adjusted due to weather conditions or other issues. There will be audible warning horns sounded five minutes and one minute before the implosion.
• The planned implosion at 9:30 a.m. will be followed later in the day by a smaller implosion on the east end of the bridge. There will be audible warning horns identical to the first implosion. This second event will not require any closures on the Iowa side, but the Wisconsin ferry landing and Wisconsin Hwy. 82 will remain closed.
• Unauthorized drones/unmanned aerial vehicles are prohibited in the restricted zone, and the presence of any unauthorized drone will delay or cancel the demolition.
• In Iowa, the project team will mark out and enforce an 850-foot restricted zone from the bridge with road closures and barricades. This includes segments of Iowa Hwy. 9/Iowa Hwy. 26, Front Street, and several cross streets and alleys from downtown Lansing to the marina. There will be no parking or pedestrians allowed in the restricted zone. See the map image accompanying this article on the front page for details.
• The City of Lansing will impose street closures and parking restrictions starting around 6 a.m. Friday, December 19. Iowa 9/Iowa 26 will close around 8:45 a.m. before the implosion to ensure the area is clear, and will reopen about 30 minutes after the implosion as crews inspect the blast zone and the remaining bridge structure. Detour signs will be posted to divert through-traffic. The Iowa 9/Iowa 26 detour will be shown on Iowa 511 (www.511ia.org).
• A 1,000-foot restricted zone will be enforced on the river, as opposed to the 850-foot restriction on land. DOT officials explained that the difference in those distances is due to how the energy waves from the implosion process travel over land vs. over water.
• State and local officials strongly advise that onlookers do not stand on the ice that has formed on the river. Ice on the Mississippi River can be extremely unstable due to currents and warmer water temperatures.
• The free car ferry service will end operations at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 18, to facilitate preparations on and around the bridge. The car ferry will resume operations the morning of Monday, December 22. Additional delays may be necessary to clear debris from the river channel.
• In Wisconsin, the entire ferry landing area will be closed to the public once car ferry service ends December 18, as the landing is within the 850-foot restricted zone. There will be no public viewing areas on the Wisconsin side. The Big Slough and Winneshiek boat landings will be closed December 18 and are anticipated to re-open the evening of December 19. Wisconsin Hwy. 82 will be closed at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 18 once the ferry service shuts down and is anticipated to re-open the evening of December 19. The ferry landing area will remain closed until the car ferry reopens December 22.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have already closed the Mississippi River to commercial traffic prior to the implosion. The river will also be closed to recreational boat traffic inside of the restricted zone.
• The project contractor and subcontractors are contacting all residents and property owners in the restricted area and providing voluntary home inspections and window protections. Residents will also be given instructions and timelines for shelter-in-place or evacuation options.
• The demolition contractor will sound an “all clear” long siren blast after 100% detonation is confirmed. However, this siren only signals release of the work zone to the primary project contractor, who will then perform final safety checks. The restricted zones will remain in place for at least 30 minutes following the implosion.
• The project team has coordinated a track outage with the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Southern Railroad and there will be no trains through Lansing for approximately four hours the morning of December 19.
• The implosion may be loud. Anyone with hearing sensitivity is advised to remain inside and use ear protection if needed.

The demolition could be delayed due to weather or other considerations and the project team has secured Saturday, December 20 as a back-up date if needed. The Iowa DOT and Wisconsin DOT will issue any updates about delays or cancellations if those situations occur.

DOT and project officials further noted that the implosion process will involve more than 500 explosive charges strategically placed within the bridge structure. They explained that even with that many charges being detonated, all will take place within milliseconds of one another in a strategic series - looking as if it were to all happen at once - to allow the bridge to collapse and fall into the river below as planned.

Officials say that once the structure has collapsed into the river and the scene has been approved as being safe, crews will begin to remove the metal structure from the river, cutting the fallen structure pieces with a torch as necessary to facilitate their removal.

Once removed from the river, those pieces will be picked up and transported by Alter Metal Recycling to its scrap metal recycling facility in La Crosse, WI. Some of those fallen pieces have also been designated for preservation with various agencies throughout Iowa and Wisconsin.

For more information on the construction of the new Mississippi River Bridge as well as updates on the existing bridge status, go to iowadot.gov/lansingbridge. Individuals may also sign up to receive email updates and view the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LansingBridge/. Information on the ferry is available at https://iowadot.gov/lansingcarferry.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the DOT 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or X (find links at https://iowadot.gov/travel-tools/iowa-511/511-social-media-sites); or download the free app to a mobile device.

Pick up the Wednesday, December 17, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.