Car Ferry Service Begins for Mississippi River Bridge Between Lansing & Wisconsin

The Mississippi River Bridge between Lansing and Wisconsin closed two weeks ago – and today, the car ferry service begins.

The free, 12-vehicle ferry will provide an alternative way for vehicles to cross the river and operate for 16 hours, seven days a week. The ferry will operate from a Wisconsin landing at the western end of WIS 82, adjacent to the bridge construction site, and cross to the Iowa landing at the Lansing Marina, north of the bridge. The first daily departures will start at 5:30 a.m. from Wisconsin and 5:45 a.m. from Iowa. The final daily departures will be at 9 p.m. from Wisconsin and 9:15 p.m. from Iowa.

The car ferry will operate on a continuous basis with one-way cycles estimated to take about 15 minutes, including loading, travel, and unloading. Ferry service may be paused temporarily for weather, river conditions, commercial traffic, crew changes, refueling, ferry maintenance, or site maintenance.

There is no cost to use the ferry. It will be open to cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. Two-axles trucks under 10 tons may also use the ferry. Trailers, ATV/UTVs, or larger vehicles such as RVs, buses, or farm equipment are not allowed.

To support more efficient travel for daily commuters, the DOT is requesting that priority access to the car ferry be given to commuter traffic during peak hours: 5:30–7:30 a.m. and 3:30–5:30 p.m. 

A new bridge is being constructed alongside the existing bridge. Iowa DOT, WisDOT, and the contractor have determined that future construction stages on the new bridge pose a risk to the safety of the existing bridge. Crews have already begun dismantling the existing bridge in advance of a full demolition later this year.

In addition to the car ferry, there are marked highway detour routes in both states. The nearest highway bridge is approximately 30 miles south at U.S. 18 connecting Marquette, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien, Wis.