Public Forum For Lake Park Bridge
Public invited to a meeting about the future of historic Ravine Road Bridge
The bridge over Ravine Road in Lake Park is closed.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman will host a public meeting about issues relating to the fenced-off and imperiled Ravine Road Pedestrian Bridge. It will be on Wednesday, February 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Marcia Coles Community Room, beneath Lake Park Bistro. The Lake Park Pavilion is located at 3133 E. Newberry Blvd. and there is free parking.
The Concrete Arch Footbridge has been closed to pedestrians since December. The early Modernist structure was designed in 1905 by the Milwaukee-based Ferry & Clas architectural firm. Ravine Road, over which the bridge spans, has been closed to vehicles since December 2014. Nicknamed “Snake Road,” it was part of Frederick Law Olmsted’s design to link Lake Park’s bluff areas to the lakefront. The bridge and park are both on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wasserman will be joined by John Dargle, Milwaukee County Parks director; Kevin Haley, landscape architect for Milwaukee County Parks; and Teig Whaley-Smith, Milwaukee County’s director of administrative services.
Topics likely to be discussed include:
- Whether to perform long-term repairs to the bridge or replace it with a replica.
- Project funding. According to Chris Abele’s office, “The bridge will be closed to all traffic until a replacement or repair alternative is finalized…This project shall not proceed until the $2,000,000 in private contributions is secured and committed.” The project is estimated at $2.5 million.
- The possible fate of the bridge if $2 million in private funding is not raised.
- The threat of the bridge’s immediate demolition, as proposed by county officials.
- Potential immediate repairs or other measures to enable the reopening of the bridge and/or Ravine Road.
- Potential federal grants from the Transportation Alternatives Program, which funds “off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized forms of transportation…and rehabilitation of historic transportation facilities.”
- Milwaukee County’s stated refusal to fully fund a long-term solution and call for residents to pay most of an infrastructure cost.
- Preservation protocols at the local, state and federal level.
Lake Park Concrete Arch Footbridge
More about the Ravine Road Bridge Project
- City Should Enforce Reopening of Ravine Road, Park Friends Say in Filing - Lake Park Friends - Sep 28th, 2023
- MKE County: Ravine Road Debate Heats Up - Graham Kilmer - Aug 14th, 2023
- MKE County: Ravine Road Project Could Begin in 2024, With Pedestrian-Only Option - Graham Kilmer - Aug 1st, 2023
- MKE County: Lake Park Bridge Open For First Time In 6 Years - Graham Kilmer - Oct 29th, 2022
- Friday Photos: Lake Park Bridge Overhaul Nears Completion - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 23rd, 2022
- MKE County: Lake Park Bridge Needs $1 Million More - Graham Kilmer - May 18th, 2021
- County Receives $2 Million Grant for Lake Park Bridge - County Executive Chris Abele - Sep 12th, 2018
- County Parks To Seek State Grant to Fund Ravine Road Bridge Project - Milwaukee County Parks - Feb 8th, 2018
- Op-Ed: Lake Park’s Bridge Spans History - Paul Daniel Marriott - Apr 5th, 2017
- Public Forum For Lake Park Bridge - Virginia Small - Feb 13th, 2017
Read more about Ravine Road Bridge Project here
The county has placed their emphasis on Ravine Rd which is truly more important than the footbridge.
Item # 2 & item #7 make it clear enough that the county is not committing taxpayer dollars to the bridge
and the county is not interested in long term solutions.
Item # 6 and item #8 provide hope for supporters of the footbridge.
Immediacy for an answer will probably lead to demolition of the bridge and maybe to a replica.
This project must absolutely NOT move forward until another suitable controversial project of a similar nature and cost is identified and set to be launched.