Wisconsin Avenue Bridge

Photos 

Milwaukee River

Here is what the Milwaukee River bridges looked like before WWII, looking south from the First Wisconsin Bank Building.

The first bridge is Wisconsin Avenue, the one that this bridge replaced. The overhead poles carry the catenary for streetcars. Note the skew angle, more on that later.

The next bridge is the Michigan Street Bridge, replaced in 1978, followed by Clybourn Street, that bridge was replaced in 1968.

The one in the far distance carried Buffalo Street. That bridge was removed in the early 1970's and was not replaced. The bridge lives on, though, in scenes of a movie entitled Gaily, Gaily from 1969, in scenes shot using the bridge as a background.

Photo from the Milwaukee Public Museum Collection, used with permission.

BH Photo #116279

Map 

Street View 

Facts 

Overview

Vertical lift bridge over Milwaukee River on Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee

Location

Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

Status

Open to traffic

Future prospects

Slated for rehabilitation under Design Built Project Funded By Obama Recovery Tiger Grant

History

Built 1975

Design

Vertical lift

Dimensions

Length of largest span: 70.2 ft.
Total length: 171.6 ft.
Deck width: 49.9 ft.

Approximate latitude, longitude

+43.03860, -87.91010   (decimal degrees)
43°02'19" N, 87°54'36" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

16/425865/4765503 (zone/easting/northing)

Quadrangle map:

Milwaukee

Average daily traffic (as of 2015)

12,476

Inventory numbers

B-40-0488
BH 34883 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Inspection report (as of May 2018)

Overall condition: Good
Superstructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 77.3 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Update Log 

• October 12, 2013: New Street View added by Douglas Butler
• August 28, 2013: New photo from Douglas Butler
• March 10, 2011: Updated by Nathan Holth: This Bridge Is Now Slated For Rehabilitation.
• June 30, 2008: Updated by J.R. Manning

Sources 

• J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
• WWII Gertie, the Milwaukee Duck - Nick Georgiady recalls the story of Gertie, The Duck and writing the book with Louis Romano.
• Milwaukee Movable Bridges - More of the story of why Milwaukee's downtown bridges cross the river at an angle.
• Nathan Holth
• Douglas Butler

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