Lansing residents no longer have to catch a ferry or drive for miles to cross the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. Iowa Department of Transportation Director Scott Marler joined his counterpart from Wisconsin to cut the ribbon to open up the bridge. He says there were a couple of things that allowed them to open way ahead of the original schedule.
Marler says the new bridge is a big improvement.
Marler says this bridge should last another 100 years. He says the truss for the new bridge uses almost as much steel as the Eiffel Tower, and the project cost around 165 million dollars.
The old historic 1931 bridge at the site was closed permanently in late 2025 after concerns the new bridge construction made it unsafe. It was then torn down. There is still some finish work on the bridge that will continue through next spring.
