Baldwin Leads Wisconsin, Iowa Senators in Calling on Biden Administration to Help Reopen Black Hawk Bridge

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) joined together to push the Biden Administration to continue working with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation to reopen the Black Hawk Bridge that connects Lansing, Iowa to Crawford County, Wisconsin – a vital link for commuters, families, and goods between the two states that since February 25 has been closed after the bridge experienced a sudden structural failure.

“The bridge’s closure impacts thousands of Wisconsinites and Iowans, with an estimated 2,200 vehicles previously crossing the bridge daily, and there are limited other options for crossing the river,” wrote the Senators in a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “Those in the community will now be required to travel miles south to the bridge connecting Marquette, Iowa with Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin or north for the bridge connecting La Crosse, Wisconsin and La Crescent, Minnesota.”

On March 4, the Iowa Department of Transportation submitted a letter of intent to request emergency relief funds through the FHWA’s Emergency Relief program, which provides reimbursable funding for the repair or reconstruction of certain Federal-aid highways that have suffered serious damage from natural disasters or catastrophic failures from external causes. The Senators urged DOT to continue working with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation to get the existing bridge reopened.

“We strongly support the efforts to get the existing bridge reopened and request that FHWA continue to work with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation to restore traffic on this bridge as soon as possible,” the Senators concluded.

A copy of this letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Buttigieg and Administrator Bhatt:

As you are aware, on February 25, 2024, a bridge in Lansing, Iowa connecting Iowa Highway 9 to Wisconsin Highway 35 experienced a sudden structural failure, leading to the bridge’s closure. Surveys and assessments conducted by the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation found that the bridge sustained severe damage due to an external force. On February 29th, 2024. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation. 

The bridge’s closure impacts thousands of Wisconsinites and Iowans, with an estimated 2,200 vehicles previously crossing the bridge daily, and there are limited other options for crossing the river. Those in the community will now be required to travel miles south to the bridge connecting Marquette, Iowa with Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin or north for the bridge connecting La Crosse, Wisconsin and La Crescent, Minnesota.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Emergency Relief (ER) program provides reimbursable funding for the repair or reconstruction of certain Federal-aid highways that have suffered serious damage from natural disasters or catastrophic failures from external causes. On March 4, 2024, the Iowa Department of Transportation submitted a letter of intent to request ER funds and FHWA responded promptly on March 5, 2024, acknowledging receipt of the letter and reiterating the parameters of the ER program.

We strongly support the efforts to get the existing bridge reopened and request that FHWA continue to work with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation to restore traffic on this bridge as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. 

Sincerely,

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