Why is it that in Wisconsin, even when you drive a wooden stake through the heart of a really bad idea, it keeps coming back to life, refusing to just die and go away?
In Door County, a battle has been raging over a bridge for about a fifteen years. Back in 2002, the State of Wisconsin DOT, working with the City of Sturgeon Bay, agreed to build a new bridge across Sturgeon Bay and renovate the old Michigan Street Bridge, a beautiful example of a multi-span, through truss and a rare Scherzer-type rolling lift bascule bridge. A citizens group, Citizens for our Bridge, Inc., has been working tirelessly to save the structure, including hosting an annual four-day music festival to raise funds to save the bridge. (See Steel Bridge Songfest for more information on the 2009 festival.) The new bridge has been built, it is set to open any day now, and the citizens of Sturgeon Bay are excited in anticipation of their iconic steel bridge being renovated.
Until last week, that is. Chairman of the Door County Board, Leo Zipperer, has asked Governor Jim Doyle to consider removing the historic Michigan Street Bridge in Sturgeon Bay. He wrote a letter to the governor, suggesting that the state has higher priorities than renovating the 70-year-old bridge. In an interview with WBAY television news (the ABC affiliate in Green Bay) Zipperer said he doesn’t want to see the bridge totally removed, just the troublesome bascule span.
Sturgeon Bay Alderman Jim Michaud thinks it’s ridiculous to tear down the bridge. In in the same report from WBAY Michaud said, “That’s the busiest street and the busiest thoroughfare in Door County.” While the new Oregon Street Bridge, due to open any day now, will relieve a great deal of traffic from the historical bridge, restoration will keep two extra traffic lanes open across the bay. “You can’t spend it in a better place,” Michaud said.
“To replace it, we now know takes $33 million. To repair it is a $14 million project, so it’s money well spent,” Michaud said.
Michigan Street Bridge, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
The bridge was built in 1930 and renovated in 1979. It has 12
through truss approach spans and the only overhead-truss, Scherzer-type,
double-leaf, rolling-lift bascule bridge in the state of Wisconsin.
Photo by David Yates, August 2008 Image © and Courtesy of Historic Bridges of the United States
No one seems to have estimated what it would cost to remove the bridge. As my friend, Professor Kevin Patrick from Indiana University of Pennsylvania says, “Bridges are expensive to put up, expensive to maintain, and expensive to tear down.” It’s already been decided to renovate the bridge, according to officials of the Wisconsin DOT. Those plans were announced on March 7, 2002 but since Jim Doyle has become governor, we’ve learned that you can’t really count on anything from Madison anymore. If the Governor is going to seriously consider overruling the Department of Transportation decision, then the cost of removing the bridge vs. the incremental cost of renovating the bridge should be considered. The better choice? Leave everything in place and renovate the beautiful old bridge.
Leo Zipperer stated that the money could be better spent due to the current economy. The American economy has always had ups and downs, but the effects of the economy are short term, while removal of the bridge is permanent. After it’s gone, it will be missed and when it’s decided that two extra traffic lanes across the bay are needed, as Jim Michaud said, it will cost $33 million to replace the bridge. That’s in 2008 dollars, who knows what it would cost to build a new bridge 10 years from now?
The concept of keeping the truss spans but removing the bascule span is just a dumb idea. That would be about as useful as making a pair of jean cut-offs by keeping the legs and throwing away the shorts.
I agree with Michaud, the renovation is money well spent to keep the extra traffic lanes open but that is just the added benefit of preserving a living piece of history, an icon of Sturgeon Bay, Door County and the State of Wisconsin.
The draw span of the 1,420 foot Michigan Street Bridge is
the only example of an overhead-truss, Scherzer-type, double-leaf,
rolling-lift bascule in the State of Wisconsin. Overhead truss
construction was utilized when a movable span was subject
to great stresses. Sturgeon Bay is like a wind tunnel and
the bridge was required to carry heavy vehicles, either force is a
great stress by itself. In addition, the span needs to offer a
clear 140 foot channel opening for ship passage. It was the
largest movable bridge in Wisconsin when it was built.
Both photos by David Yates, August 2008
Image © and Courtesy of Historic Bridges of the United States
and may not be reproduced without the permission.
See the Bridge Hunter website for more information about the Michigan Street Bridge and over 26,000 other historic bridges in the United States.