Car ferry service has started following closure of the Black Hawk Bridge

WISCONSIN / IOWA (CIVIC MEDIA) – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), together with the Iowa Department of Transportation, have announced a car ferry service will start on Monday.

The goal of the car ferry is to provide an alternative option following the closure of the of the existing WIS 82 / Iowa 9 Mississippi River bridge between Crawford County, Wisconsin and Lansing, Iowa. The existing bridge, also known as the Black Hawk Bridge, closed to traffic on Oct. 20 as construction continues on a new bridge.

The free, 12-vehicle ferry will provide an alternative way for vehicles to cross the river and operate for 16 hours, seven days a week. The ferry will operate from a Wisconsin landing at the western end of WIS 82, adjacent to the bridge construction site, and cross to the Iowa landing at the Lansing Marina, north of the bridge. The first daily departures will start each morning at 5:30 from Wisconsin and 5:45 from Iowa. The final daily departures each night will be at 9 a.m. from Wisconsin and 9:15 a.m. from Iowa.

To support more efficient travel for daily commuters, you are kindly requested that priority access be given to commuter traffic during peak hours: 5:30 to 7:30 each morning and 3:30 to 5:30 each afternoon. Non-commuters are asked to consider traveling outside these time frames when possible.

The car ferry will operate on a continuous basis with one-way cycles estimated to take about 15 minutes, including loading, travel and unloading. Ferry service may be paused temporarily for weather, river conditions, commercial traffic, crew changes, refueling, ferry maintenance, or site maintenance.

On Iowa DOT-observed holidays, the car ferry will operate on a revised schedule from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The first holiday to follow this schedule will be Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, followed by the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 27 and 28, and Christmas, Dec. 25. Visit the Lansing Car Ferry website for the full list of holidays following the revised schedule.

There is no cost to use the ferry. It will be open to cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. Two-axle trucks under 10 tons may also use the ferry. Trailers, ATV/UTVs, or larger vehicles such as RVs, buses, or farm equipment are not allowed.

In addition to the car ferry, there are marked highway detour routes in both states. The nearest highway bridge is approximately 30 miles south at US 18 connecting Marquette, Iowa to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

---