WINONA — After years of planning, groundbreaking was held Friday for a new Winona Bridge crossing the Mississippi River.

The ceremony was held where the new bridge will enter Winona from Wisconsin. Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz were among those attending.

Weather permitting, construction on the $162 million project will begin next week.

The new bridge will be built to the north of the existing bridge and then crews will rehabilitate the existing bridge. That will give Winona four lanes of traffic crossing the bridge on Highway 43 over the Mississippi.

The construction company was chosen early on and was able to help plan and design the project.

The entire project is expected to last five years.