UPDATE: Washout repaired on Wisconsin Hwy. 82; Black Hawk Bridge back open

Wisconsin and Iowa officials say Wisconsin State Highway 82 connecting Iowa to Wisconsin just east of Lansing is now open to traffic, including the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing. East and westbound lanes on Hwy. 82 between Iowa Hwy. 26 and Wisconsin Hwy. 35 had both been closed since Tuesday, May 30 due to a washout caused by high waters on the Mississippi River. Wisconsin Department of Transportation crews have been working since Tuesday on filling the hole and repairing the road, and, as of Friday morning, June 2 at around 11 a.m., the road has been reopened to traffic.

That washout also claimed the life of 59-year-old James Walleser of Lansing, who was traveling Hwy. 82 on his way to work at approximately 4:20 that May 30 morning. As he was navigating the roadway at that dark early morning hour, Walleser ended up driving his Jeep into the unsuspected washout crater, which officials say measured more than 70 feet in length and about 10 feet deep. The vehicle ended up being fully submerged in the waters of the Mississippi River, where emergency responder crews, along with the La Crosse County Dive Team, eventually recovered the Jeep later that morning, along with Walleser's body. The Jeep is reported to have sustained heavy front-end damage, and Walleser was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. A full obituary for James Walleser will appear in the June 7 edition of The Standard.