New Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing Still On Track to Open Early November

Earlier this month, the Iowa and Wisconsin DOTs announced that the new Mississippi River bridge at Lansing will open months ahead of its originally projected target of Spring 2027.

Pete Hjelmstad with the Iowa DOT’s Mason City District office says that doesn’t mean there’s still not a lot of work remaining.

Crews must also “fine tune” the bridge deck itself.

Hjelmstad notes that work adjacent to the bridge also remains.

Hjelmstad adds that officials are still calculating the financial savings to be realized with the bridge opening so far ahead of schedule. Among the most notable expenses to be cut when the bridge opens: the car ferry service offered to commuters to go back and forth across the river since November 2025.

The old Mississippi River bridge opened in 1931, though it was closed from 1945 to 1957 after it was damaged by ice jams on the Mississippi. It then remained in use until it had to be closed permanently late last year after construction on the new bridge had caused it to move. The old bridge was then demolished last December.

Construction of the new bridge began in late 2023.