Concrete crumbling from Hoan Bridge

If you are going to Summerfest this year, you might want to look up and walk quickly while passing beneath the Hoan Bridge.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik and several south shore mayors are criticizing the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which plans to take bids for work to install netting to catch falling chunks of concrete from the Hoan Bridge after Summerfest is concluded.
The DOT announced it is seeking a contractor to “install netting underneath a portion of the Hoan Bridge near the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility in Milwaukee County,” as well as improve and repair existing netting near the Summerfest grounds.
According to the DOT, bids for the project will be advertised on June 22 and let on July 13.
Jursik expressed disappointment in the DOT’s failure to complete engineering studies to re-deck the Hoan, despite a promise from DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi to do so.
“This is not the RFP we want to see from the DOT,” Jursik said. “We are asking for an engineering study to include the Hoan Bridge in the next budget cycle. Any RFP should actually fix the Hoan, rather than delay it any further. The Hoan is well past its useful lifespan.”
South Milwaukee Mayor Thomas Zepecki, Cudahy Mayor Tony Day, and St. Francis Mayor Al Richards voiced similar concerns, saying the Hoan Bridge is a critical conduit for commercial and residential traffic, connecting the Port of Milwaukee, General Mitchell International Airport, and the south shore to the Marquette Interchange and the entire Interstate system.
The Coalition to Save the Hoan, a group of Wisconsin residents including community, business, and elected leaders, has held public hearings and advocated for the preservation of the Hoan Bridge. Last November, the coalition submitted more than 8,000 signatures to Gov. Jim Doyle, asking the state to re-deck the Hoan.
The DOT’s announcement can be found at http://roadwaystandards.dot.wi.gov/hcci.
– BizTimes Milwaukee