Update: New $165 million Lansing bridge opens five months early; ferry ends Friday

The new Mississippi River bridge at Lansing opened to traffic around noon Friday, KCRG reports, five months ahead of its original spring 2027 schedule. Iowa and Wisconsin transportation officials held a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first crossing before the public opening. The bridge replaces the 94-year-old Black Hawk Bridge, which closed in October 2025 over safety concerns and was demolished that December. The car ferry that carried traffic across the river while the bridge was out ends service at the end of the day Friday; it carried more than 160,000 vehicles in the past year, according to the report. The new crossing can accommodate around 2,500 vehicles a day and was built with 11,400 cubic yards of concrete and 6,600 tons of steel, the Iowa Department of Transportation said. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers attended the ceremony; Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was not able to attend. Work continues outside the main traffic lanes, including restoring the ferry landing areas and removing the old bridge piers, with no full closures expected; all work is to be done by spring 2027. "It's historic," Lansing resident Curtis Snitker said.