County officials vote to reopen Waubeka bridge

The Highway H bridge over the Milwaukee River in Waubeka will likely reopen to traffic while Ozaukee County officials wait for state funds to become available to fix it, which could take six years or more, a committee of county supervisors decided last week.

County Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren had recommended to the Public Works Committee that the bridge be closed in the winter, since putting down steel plates to make the bridge usable would make the bridge difficult if not impossible to plow or would require excessive salting.

Closing the bridge would force traffic to use Highway I to the east or Highway M to the west to get in or out of Waubeka.

But Town of Fredonia Supr. Bob Eichner and county Supr. Marcia Nosko, who represents the area, urged the supervisors to keep the bridge open for the sake of Waubeka businesses and the Waubeka Fire Department and ambulance service.

A hole through the bridge deck appeared last April and a steel plate was placed to cover the hole. But when it was checked this summer, it was discovered that cracks from the hole had expanded and the reinforcing steel rods had deteriorated.

Since August, the bridge has been closed.

Concrete barriers were recently installed at both ends of the bridge because someone had been moving the wooden barricades to gain access to the bridge and because federal inspectors were scheduled to visit the area, committee members were told.

The county had applied to the state last year for funds to repair or replace the bridge, but it was not included in the list of grant award winners, Edgren said.

He said the county will apply again next year.

However, since a year later the list of  last year’s winners still has not been announced and the funds have not been disbursed, it could be 2029 before the county is granted the funds and then another two years or more for the project to be completed, he said.

In the end, the committee voted to put down steel plates across the 88-foot length of the bridge and keep it open through the winter months, even though it will require heavy salting, Edgren said.

County officials are waiting for the state Department of Transportation to give them the go ahead.

Supr. Tom Bichler suggested installing signs instructing plow drivers to lift their plows on the bridge.

Edgren said it will take about a month for the 25-by-eight-foot plates to be available. 

The committee last month authorized Edgren to spend up to $100,000 from the Highway Department’s reserves to fund the project.

Edgren estimated the cost of laying down the steel plates would total about $30,000.

Despite the hole in the bridge deck and the weight of the plates, Edgren said the bridge is safe to travel on.