The long wait is over: With restoration work (nearly) complete, you can totally walk across the Ravine Road Bridge in Lake Park again. (Well, you always could when the bridge was still standing, but you had to sneak around some fences and some “BRIDGE CLOSED” signs.)
Two words: HELL YEAH. Here’s video of our inaugural walk across the thing:
Up until last week, the Ravine Road Bridge in Lake Park—first constructed in 1905—had been closed to pedestrian traffic since 2016. The road below had been closed to vehicular traffic two years prior when, as Urban Milwaukee puts it, “significant structural issues with the bridge were noticed.” A $3.4 million restoration project was launched to restore the historic bridge—$2 million came from a federal grant, $1 million came from Milwaukee County, and another $300,000 came from Lake Park Friends.
Also, the bridge absolutely wasn’t designed by Milwaukee architect Alfred C. Clas.
The full restoration isn’t quite complete (check out the photos below), but yeah, you can totally walk across the bridge again. It even has that newly restored bridge smell!
Here’s the bridge BEFORE restoration (in 2017):
And here it is AFTER restoration (Monday afternoon):
As for Ravine Road itself, which is still closed, we say keep it closed to vehicular traffic!
Oh, and here’s information on the official Ravine Road Bridge reopening ceremony, from County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman:
After years of closure and construction, I am excited to announce that the historic Ravine Bridge in Lake Park is finally reopening to the public this weekend. While the path and road running underneath remains off limits, everyone who visits Lake Park will once again be able to cross the bridge and enjoy its spectacular beauty.
Preserving such an important cultural landmark for future generations to use and enjoy would not have been possible without the hard work and financial contributions of Milwaukee County taxpayers and Lake Park Friends. I want to single out Lake Park Friends for the dedication and work they put into this project from the very beginning.
As I’ve long promised, we are going to have a big ceremony to celebrate the reopening of the Lake Park Ravine Bridge. It will be held on Tuesday, November 15th, at 1:00PM and will include a ribbon cutting, speeches, entertainment, and delicious catering courtesy of our friends at Bartolotta Restaurants. This reopening ceremony is going to be a great time, and I hope to see you all there!
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