N. 50th Street Menomonee River Bridge
There IS a bridge at this location
Written by J.R. ManningUPDATE!
In March, 2008, I was unable to locate this bridge and wrote the following:
I have no idea what bridge this listing references. There is no 50th Street bridge crossing the Menomonee River. 50th Street runs north of State Street, but not south of State Street. Private property borders the north edge of the river at 5000 West.
There is a plate girder bridge at 45th Street, just to the east.
A little farther west, about 6100 West, just north of Honey Creek Parkway, there are abutments and piers of a missing bridge. A local resident says this may have been a pedestrian walkway.
On July 5, 2008, I found the bridge. It is well hidden behind private property and even then, is well hidden by overgrowth of brush in the area.
I cannot even begin to imagine why this one lane bridge was built. The south end provides access to Doyne Park property, much more easily accessable from Wells Street. There does not appear to be any developed walking or nature trail, nor can I understand why anyone on a nature trail would need access to an auto parts warehouse.
It almost appears to have been a temporary bridge that was installed, used and forgotten.
If I ever find out what purpose this odd structure served, I will tell you here.
Facts
- Overview
- Pony truss bridge over Menomonee River on N. 50th Street in Milwaukee
- Location
- Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
- Status
- FOUND! This elusive bridge is well hidden but extant behind private property.
- History
- Built 1976
- Design
- Bailey pony truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 69.9 ft.
Total length: 70.9 ft.
Deck width: 12.8 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +43.04300, -87.97660 (decimal degrees)
43°02'35" N, 87°58'36" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/420454/4766052 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Milwaukee
- Average daily traffic (as of 2016)
- 1
- Inventory number
- BH 34857 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
- Inspection report (as of July 2018)
- Sufficiency rating: 16.6 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- July 5, 2008: Updated by J.R. Manning
- March 23, 2008: Updated by J.R. Manning: Updated listing
- March 16, 2008: Essay added by J.R. Manning
Comments
Doyne Park Hiking Trails
There appears to be remnants of a paved/groomed trail along the riverbank leading to the bridge. It connects to the County Oak Leaf Trail at the west end of the park underneath Hawley Road.
Could it have been intended to connect Doyne Park to the open grassy area east of the north end of the bridge? For fishing in the river?
The other "missing bridge" mentioned was built as a CCC project for pedestrian access to the park. According to the book "Milwaukee County Parks (Images of America)" it was faced with stone from the Curry Park quarry.
That is one of those WW 2 pony truss bridges designed to be quick installations, and modular. I think many were sold as surplus after the war.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/wi/milwaukee/P40065800000000/
From the Milwaukee County Parks Department:
The Doyne Park Landfill was used as a quarry in the early 1900’s and later used by the City of Milwaukee for the disposal of solid waste (also formerly known as the Hawley Road Landfill). The site is approximately 40 acres in size. Milwaukee County owns the easterly 35 acres and the Badger Association of the Blind, who uses it for a parking lot, owns the westerly 5 acres. Records regarding waste disposal at the site are vague but suggest that filling may have begun in the 1940’s. WDNR records indicate that the site received wood, old appliances, and street sweepings before it closed in 1976. The total volume of the waste on the entire site is estimated to be between 2.5 and 5.2 million cubic yards. This site is located northeast from the intersection of Hawley Road and Wells Street in Milwaukee. (So maybe the bridge was used for the landfill or for the conversion to the park?)