christie's blog

Sturgeon Bay's Historic Michigan Street Bridge gets a new two-lane companion bridge.

Aug 7, 2008 Sturgeon Bay -- A new two-lane bridge, scheduled to open Sunday, September 21, 2008, will complete a four-lane Federal Highway safety requirement for Door County's Northern Corridor. Addressing major safety and sufficiency concerns, the Sturgeon Bay four-lane bridge project (Business Hwy 42/57) is a giant step closer to completion with the opening of a companion two-lane bridge just a little over 700 feet away from the historic two-lane Michigan Street bridge. The building of this two-lane companion bridge saved numerous downtown structures from the wrecking ball, including the historic bridge, which was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It avoided a two-year closure to the historic downtown district and provided continued access to County Trunk B running to Egg Harbor. It will save the historic commercial district from annual shutdowns, offer county drivers an adequate alternate route to the highway, and secure the mainland access to Door County's only hospital. The new bridge was born out of six years of review and negotiations between the Wisconsin DOT, the Federal Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP), State Historic Preservation Officer, National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), City of Sturgeon Bay, and other local organizations through Sec.106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and Section 4(f) processes which are required when seeking federal dollars for state road projects that effect historic properties.The processes identify options and possible adverse effects on historic properties. An all-day county-wide inaugural celebration, originally planned for August 23, 2008, the day the State will take ownership from the builders, was delayed until Sept. 21 by the WisDOT.

History Offers A Green Solution

The Historic Steel Bridge has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is listed "important" because of the unique Scherzer type rolling lift. This rolling lift is only one of two left in the nation and the only one left in Wisconsin. The bridge boosts 400,000 rivets, was built to withstand high winds in the canal, and could be hand cranked open because of its unique upper counterweight balance system. The Steel Bridge stands as our small town's most recognizable icon and is inarguably the most significant structure in Door County.

The first rehab of the nationally significant historic Steel Bridge is finally in our sites. This year we will see all our efforts hard at work. We are kicking off a one million dollar restoration 2008 fund drive. The goal is to address important long-range maintenance issues that are not included in the most recent WisDOT rehab planned for September, 2008. At the same time, we will also help create a long range Restoration Plan to maintain the historic bridge for future generations.
2008 Goal= $1,000,000

The state feels TODAY that painting the STEEL BRIDGE (last painted in 1984) is an "asthetic improvement" and not a nessesary maintenance requirement. We believe that not cleaning and painting the entire bridge will have a negative adverse impact to the intergraty of the steel structure and add cost to the final restoration plan if not addressed in this rehab.

#1 First Joint Public/Private Bridge rehab project in the State -Approved:
The WisDOT most recent rehab plan calls for painting the steel bridge 5' up from the road bed only. The Citizens for Our Bridge plan will be to clean and paint the entire steel structure to protect the steel from more deterioration, as recomended in the WisDOT rehab plan.
Estimated amount = $300,000.00 according to the WisDOT 25-year rehabilitation study.

#2 Projects still under discussion in 2008 Rehab:
Restoration of Bridgetender's House:

Dear Members,