It seems the DOT/State has positioned itself to tear the Hoan down – otherwise they would have never released the HNTB study to the public. They would have found another study that says it is more cost effective to keep the Hoan.

The Hoan has no character – in fact there are many identical bridges across the country (see Green Bay) that were built during the same period, so I agree with the state that it should be torn down. Depending on the rebuild solution, I think residents of the south side communities will be okay with this as well.

In my opinion, the most critical piece of the new roadway is the portion from the Marquette Interchange (Milwaukee St. overpass) to the river (Marcus Amphitheater). We know that a bridge needs to be built over the river/MMSD that allows for shipping yet is efficient for vehicle traffic, so that southern portion is less important to economic development. the north piece must be built AT GROUND LEVEL similar to Lincoln Memorial Drive. Otherwise, the Italian Community Center and other parking lot operators will sit on their land for the rest of time, because it is more profitable to rent parking daily and for the festivals than it is to build new buildings. It is crazy to think that Milwaukee’s most vibrant urban neighborhood – which continues to grow in a recession, has not moved east toward the lake. The barrier to development must be removed because it will also allow the CBD to grow south to the 3rd ward at Jackson, Van Buren, etc.

This will likely be a debate with two sides – south siders and baby boomers vs. urban dwellers and generation x. Let’ s make the right choice people – think about getting development up to the current Hoan footprint and what it will do for Milwaukee – southsiders – it will only add about 60 seconds to your commute.

None of my out of town guests have ever said anything to compliment the Hoan (as opposed to 6th viaduct) – this is not by accident.

Bring on the debate!

This is probably the best article I have seen on the costs.

http://www.biztimes.com/news/2008/10/31/the-bridge-to-somewhere

I used reconstructed in the article. I should have used “redecked” in association with the $200 million cost. Thanks for drawing my attention to that.

Personally, I love the Hoan Bridge. It’s such a graceful design and honors Milwaukee’s proud Socialist history; Mayor Dan Hoan did a lot of great things for the city before “Socialist” sadly became an epithet roughly equivalent to “mofo.” It’s a beautiful symbol of our harbor and of our city.

“The Hoan Bridge study, first reported by The Business Journal Aug. 22, points out the state would spend $80 million less through 2025 to replace the bridge than to pay for maintenance on the 2.5-mile span.”

http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/10/20/editorial1.html?q=hoan%20bridge%20business%20journal