Attention Tubers: What the Water Street Bridge Project Means for You
As the Wisconsin weather warms, so does the water temperature, and soon enough that will mean tubers will be launching into the Chippewa River from Phoenix Park for a serene float through Eau Claire. However, their relaxation may give way to sudden anxiety as they drift into sight of the aquatic construction zone otherwise known as the Water Street bridge project.
If you’re going downstream, you’ll notice buoys in the water indicating a path between the two massive piers that hold up the new bridge. (This happens to be the route the current carries tubers along anyway.)
Demolition work on the old bridge began last September, and the new bridge won’t be finished for several more months. Does this mean that that floating down the river in your favorite inflated inner tube is off-limits? In a word, no, says project manager Tara Weiss of the state Department of Transportation. Because the bridge straddles a navigable waterway, Weiss says contractors are required to provide a passage for tubers, boaters, and anyone else traveling Eau Claire’s urban river route.
If you’re going downstream, you’ll notice buoys in the water indicating a path between the two massive piers that hold up the new bridge. (This happens to be the route the current carries tubers along anyway.) Weiss says that high water earlier this spring washed a few of the buoys away, but they have since been replaced.
While work on the bridge has progressed to a point where river travel likely won’t be impeded, there will still be construction barges in the water and contractors working on the bridge overhead, so keep your eyes open and use common sense.
And whether you are traveling down the river or simply are eager to travel over it on the Water Street bridge again, you’ll be happy to know that the project is now in the home stretch. By the end of May, workers will pour concrete to form the bridge’s deck, Weiss says. After that, they’ll pour more concrete for the sidewalk (which, thankfully, will have higher railings than those on the previous bridge) as well as for the parapet walls and other elements. After other work is done – grading, adding lighting and signs, etc. – the project is on track to be finished by Sept. 1, which means you’ll be able to travel across (or, if you prefer, under) the new, improved span while there’s still some warm weather left.
For more information on the Water Street bridge project, visit http://projects.511wi.gov/waterstbridge/
