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Transportation
Andrew Krueger

New Mississippi River bridge linking northeastern Iowa, western Wisconsin set to open

A view of a bridge being built across a river
A view of the Lansing Bridge across the Mississippi River as the new span nears completion in late October in Lansing, Iowa. This view — looking from Iowa toward the Wisconsin side of the river — is a still image from a webcam documenting the construction.
Iowa Department of Transportation

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The new bridge is almost double in width and made of concrete instead of steel grating. It includes other improvements for both river and land traffic.

A ceremony is planned for Friday to open a new bridge spanning the Mississippi River between northeastern Iowa and western Wisconsin.

The river crossing at Lansing, Iowa, is the only bridge across the Mississippi in a 60-mile stretch — between La Crescent in Minnesota, and Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin.

The old bridge — which dated back to 1931 — closed last year and was demolished last winter.

Its replacement originally was scheduled to open in 2027. But state transportation officials said the project moved faster than expected — in part due to the “concentrated work” of crews planning and building the bridge, and in part thanks to favorable weather and river conditions.

The new bridge is now set to open to traffic this Friday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the middle of the span at 11 a.m. It’s set to open to regular traffic at about 12:30 p.m.

A view of two cranes building a new bridge
A view of the old Lansing Bridge (at right), with the new span under construction on the left, in October 2025 in Lansing, Iowa.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News

The Iowa Department of Transportation said the new bridge — more than 1,700 feet long — was designed to have a similar look to its predecessor. But it also has many improvements and upgrades:

  • The deck of the new span is 40 feet wide, compared to 21 feet for the previous bridge. That means wider driving lanes along with eight-foot shoulders. The old bridge did not have shoulders.

  • The new bridge has a concrete deck; the old span’s deck was made of steel grating.

  • The new bridge has a wider channel for barges and other river traffic passing underneath.

  • The intersection on the Iowa side is upgraded to allow for easier turns for westbound trucks exiting the bridge.

While the bridge opens this week, some additional work on the bridge deck — and removal of the previous spans’ piers and foundations — will continue into next year.

A temporary car ferry service was used over the past year, while the new bridge was under construction. It will stop running when the new span opens on Friday.