A new Mississippi River bridge opened Friday in northeast Iowa's Driftless Region, connecting the city of Lansing to rural Crawford County, Wisconsin.
It replaces the historic Black Hawk Bridge, which was demolished in Dec. 2025 to make way for the replacement.
The Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (IDOT, WisDOT) held a ribbon cutting before opening the bridge to traffic.
Transit officials highlighted improvements delivered by the project. The new bridge is nearly twice as wide – 40 feet rather than 21. The intersection on the Iowa side is expanded to allow safer passage for large vehicles, and the bridge’s central span is wider, facilitating river traffic.
It also sits directly in bedrock, said IDOT Director Scott Marler.
“With a foundation depth of 150 feet – nearly three times the depth of the original bridge – we are standing on solid rock as we stand here today,” he said.
He also said the bridge used more than 6,600 tons of steel.
“That’s pretty close to the amount of steel in the Eiffel Tower,” he said.
Project Manager Clayton Burke noted the design was meant to recall the historic bridge, which was known widely for its iconic skeleton profile and open grate decking that “sang” as cars drove across.
“This project that has been supported by so many excellent people, groups, teams, communities, and states,” said Burke.
The ribbon-cutting attracted officials from across that effort, including Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. Construction workers and residents eager for traffic to resume also came out on the cloudless, crisp November morning.
The final cost was $165 million, $112 million of which came from federal sources.
When construction unexpectedly destabilized the historic bridge, it had to be demolished before the replacement was complete, stranding the rural region that relied on it. The closest crossing is a 50 mile detour.
In response, WisDOT and IDOT implemented a ferry service.
Meanwhile, construction crews sped up work to complete the bridge as “as fast as they possibly could,” Burke said, scheduling 10 hour shifts seven days a week.
On Friday, their work paid off, as the bridge opened five months before schedule.
After his comments, Marler reflected on the bridge, and the process which brought it to completion.
“We’re very proud,” he said.
