Hwy. H bridge in Waubeka is kaput, county says

The Highway H bridge over the Milwaukee River at Waubeka needs to be replaced but that won’t likely happen for at least four years and more likely six, a committee of Ozaukee County supervisors were told last week.

That’s because state grants to pay for the replacement won’t likely be available until fall 2027, Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren told the county Public Works Committee.

Edgren estimated the cost of replacing the bridge will be about $3 million, with the county being responsible for about 20% of that.

“At this point, we’re likely two years away from any bridge grants, and another two years to design and bid the bridge” for construction, he said. “Therefore, we need any solution to go at least four years, but want to prepare for longer if we don’t get initial approval for a bridge grant.”

He said one alternative would be to “go political” and entice local legislators to lobby the DOT on the county’s behalf to get funding.

The bridge was closed earlier this year, then reopened after metal plates were placed on the bridge.

But in July a re-inspection of the bridge showed increased damage, and the decision was made to close it again.

Edgren told supervisors that the rebar — the ribbed steel bars inside the 80-year-old bridge’s concrete — had deteriorated more than previously thought.

“There’s pretty much nothing there,” he said.

The supervisors voted to authorize Edgren to spend up to $100,000 for a temporary fix to the problem.

Edgren said he’s “up in the air” as to what the best solution would be, but he’s leaning toward once again laying one-inch-thick steel plates, 10-by-20 feet in size, down the middle of the bridge for about 80 feet.

Edgren said that would be the “cheapest option,” costing $20,000 to $30,000.

Putting down steel plates poses its own set of problems, however, he said, because county plows would not be able to drive over the plates to remove the snow.

“We could salt the bejesus out of it” to get rid of the snow off the bridge, or close the bridge in the winter and detour traffic to Highway I to the east or Highway M to the west.

Edgren said the environmental impact on the river of that much salt causes him to lean toward closing the bridge in the winter.

“We’re guessing that we wouldn’t want to plow over the steel plates, and if we can’t then I’d prefer to close the bridge versus heavy salting over the Milwaukee River,” he said.

An alternative plan would be to remove the deck between girders, install a prefabricated form in its place and repour a new concrete deck in the removed area, Edgren said.

He said that would cost $50,000 to $80,000.