New Water Street Bridge renderings by WisDOT. (Please note – new bridge construction WILL NOT replace the surrounding area with a vast green nothingness.)

If you want to take a final, nostalgic drive over Eau Claire’s Water Street bridge, you’ve only got a few days to do it: Construction will begin to replace the bridge on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The $7.2 million project will last roughly a year, and will completely replace the current bridge with a new span that the state Department of Transportation says will be better for drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. When finished, the bridge will have taller railings, raised sidewalks, six-foot-wide on-street bike lanes in both directions, and a right-turn lane onto First Avenue. Until the new bridge is complete, traffic will be detoured over the Lake Street bridge about three-quarters of a mile away, so plan your trips around town accordingly. (And if you’re walking or pedaling, use the UW-Eau Claire pedestrian bridge a bit downriver.) Oh, and if you do plan a last drive over the current bridge, you better hope it holds up better than its predecessor: The old Water Street bridge collapsed dramatically into the Chippewa River in 1945.