New Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing to Open November 6th

The wait for motorists wishing to commute via a bridge from Lansing, Iowa, across the Mississippi, into Wisconsin, and vice versa, is down to about a month.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) and Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) have announced that the Iowa 9/WIS 82 Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing is expected to open to traffic in the afternoon on Friday, November 6th. The agencies had previously announced an early November opening which is significantly ahead of the original timeline for spring of 2027.

The Mississippi River Bridge project started in late 2023, with the old bridge closed permanently in late 2025 and demolished in December of 2025. Project staff credited the early opening to the concentrated work of the contracting team which has also been aided by favorable weather and river conditions.

Since November 2025, the DOTs have provided a free car ferry service, which carried about 555 vehicles daily over the river in the summer of 2026. The last day of car ferry service will also be November 6th.

Motorists who cannot or have chosen not to use the car ferry have used a marked detour route on the U.S. 18 bridge connecting Marquette, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, about 30 miles south of the crossing at Lansing.

The DOTs advise that, even after the bridge opens to traffic, there will be additional work to be completed outside of the main traffic lanes, including restoration of the ferry landing areas and removal of the prior bridge piers and foundations. In spring 2027, additional work on the bridge deck will mean traffic disruptions, but should not require any full closures. The entire project is expected to be completed in late spring 2027.