220-Foot Steel Span Hoisted Into Place on $140M Mississippi River Bridge Rebuild
According to Engineering News-Record, the $140 million reconstruction of the Lansing Bridge between Iowa and Wisconsin hit a major milestone on June 12 when the new structure’s 220-ft-long, 1.8-million-lb steel center span was hoisted into position using a strand jack system. General contractor Kraemer North America assembled the span on two deck barges upstream, floated it into place by tugboat, then lifted it 64 ft above the river’s main navigation channel over nearly 12 hours.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Heavy lift and rigging specialists should note the scale of the strand jack system used here: four sets of 22 post-tensioning strands driven by 330-ton hydraulic jacks, supplied by Structural Technologies.
- Sequencing complexity on major bridge projects creates specialty subcontract opportunities across multiple trades, from pile driving and concrete pier work to steel erection and final deck pours.
- Federal funding covers roughly 80% of this project’s cost, a reminder that federally backed infrastructure jobs often carry longer timelines and detailed coordination requirements that reward experienced subcontractors.
