The Iowa D-O-T has started work to repair the existing bridge over the Mississippi River from Lansing to Wisconsin. The bridge was closed on February 25th after it was discovered that two of the bridge piers had shifted. The D-O-T’s Clayton Burke says the repair plan is to lift the deck off the bridge and set it to the side.
The problem happened near the area where a new bridge is being built, and Burke says that could be part of the reason for the pier shift.
It will take two months to get the existing bridge back open and the D-O-T has been working on alternatives, including a van pool.
The water taxi would take people across the river and then give them a ride in a van. Burke says they have been able to keep most of the work going on the new bridge. They have stopped any deep drilling into the riverbed to avoid vibrations.
The new bridge won’t be completed until the end of 2026. Burke says around 29-hundred people crossed the Lansing bridge each day before it had to be closed.
