Tag Archives: Beech Street Bridge

November 4, 2015 · 8:00 am

Update: Beech Street Bridge Expected To Reopen Before Christmas

Beech Street bridge

Milwaukee County has provided an update on the Beech Street pedestrian bridge, which was removed this spring after officials deemed it unsafe.

The headline: The bridge over Oak Creek is excepted to reopen the week of December 21, about a month behind schedule.

Here is a quick rundown of expected activities in the next six weeks, provided by the county …

  • Caisson and abutment contractor mobilize: Week of Nov. 9
  • Bridge shop drawings from bridge supplier: Nov. 11
  • Review and approve shop drawings (assumes no resubmittal needed): Nov 13
  • Caisson and abutment construction complete: Dec. 4
  • Complete grading for bridge approaches (crushed stone surface):  Week of Dec. 7
  • Current bridge delivery schedule: Dec. 18
  • Set bridge: Week of Dec. 21 (bridge open for use)
  • Pave asphalt approaches: Spring 2016

I thank the county for their continued work on this, and I appreciate your patience. With funding approved on July 16, I am glad to see work will still be substantially complete before the dead of winter sets in. This is an important connection for a number of residents and our schools, as well as recreational users of the Oak Creek Parkway, me included.

The good news: Once this is done, we should have a bridge built for the long term, another in a line of significant recent investments in the Oak Creek watershed and our local parks.

I think it will be well worth the wait.

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Filed under Construction, Milwaukee County, Parks, South Milwaukee

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August 17, 2015 · 10:40 pm

Beech Street Bridge Reopening By November 15

With the start of school fast approaching, the Beech Street foot bridge over Oak Creek has been on many minds of late.

Here is the latest update from Milwaukee County: The bridge, removed in May because it was deemed unsafe, is expected to be rebuilt and reopened for foot traffic by Nov. 15.

I appreciate the Parks Department tackling this project before the snow flies, and while I initially hoped for completion in time for the start of school, I quickly realized this was unrealistic. Four months for planning, designing and building a significant project like this – one that will stand the test of time as a key connection between the northwest side of town and school campuses — is very reasonable.

Of course, it’s unlikely this would be done at all in 2015 without Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who successfully pushed for emergency funding in a resolution approved by the county board in June. So we should all thank Pat for driving that – and thank her and the administration for all of the investments happening in South Milwaukee’s parks this year and beyond.

The best part: Things are just getting started.

With more than 20% of our land mass comprised of parks, enhancing these public spaces is critical for our city. Those enhancements are clearly happening, and will continue to happen if we all work together toward a more promising future for our public spaces. 

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Filed under Oak Creek, Parks, South Milwaukee

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