Bridge over US 2 begins to come down

By Zachary Marano

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Hurley - Construction crews started removing the U.S. 51 bridge over U.S. 2 Tuesday to help make way for a new single lane roundabout. The work included removing the road deck from north half of the bridge.

All traffic will continueto be directed to the eastbound lanes until the north half of the bridge is dismantled, according to Project Engineer Erik Lundwall. The north half of the bridge covers the former westbound lanes of U.S. 2.

"The north half of the bridge has to come down because we're switching traffic to the westbound lanes," Lundwall said. "When traffic comes over to this side, we'll take this removal operation in the eastbound lanes and that half of the bridge will then come out. Then we'll build the roundabout. The final stage will be some milling and repaving on the ends and that'll tie it all together."

Lundwall said that workers will finish removing the north half of the bridge today.

Lundwall said the crews stripped the deck of the bridge with an excavator. After the surface of the bridge was removed, workers were to cut down the girders that supported the structure. The bridge piers and the abutment on the nearby hill will be removed next, he said.

The concrete pavement removed during the project is being crushed into basecourse just west of the construction site. The contractor will recycle the asphalt and concrete to make the new roadway, Lundwall said.

The other half of the bridge will be removed in mid to late July and the project will be completed in late October, Lundwall said.

According to Tegan Griffin of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the bridge is being removed because it was deteriorating. Construction on the bridge began in 1961 and completed in 1962. The height of the bridge was also impacting oversized and overweight loads. The new roundabout will be safer and less costly, she said.