Heads up, folks who drive, bike, walk, or skip over the Water Street Bridge that spans the Milwaukee River at the border of the Third Ward and Walker’s Point: the bridge is gonna be closed for about two months.
Beginning Monday, September 8 at 6 a.m., the 224-foot, nearly 40-year-old bridge will be closed to all traffic as it undergoes multiple rounds of rehabilitation. The work is expected to last throughout September and October. Plans call for the bridge to be partially reopened the week of November 3.
During the months-long rehab work, traffic will be rerouted onto Erie Street and Pittsburgh Avenue:
According to the project’s website, the rehab work includes “concrete bridge approach slab removal and replacement; minor structural steel replacements; sandblast and paint bridge structural steel; expansion joint removal and replacement; center lock adjustments; sidewalk plate removal and replacement; bike plate removal, salvage and reinstallation; and traffic gate upgrades.”
Who’s paying for it? Eighty percent of the $3.2 million project will be covered by state aid, and Milwaukee will foot the remaining 20%.
Oh, and if your main interaction with the Water Street Bridge is traveling under it via boat, you’re in luck: river navigation will remain open throughout the project. Under the bridge downtown, etc.
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