Lake Park Bridge Open For First Time In 6 Years
Pedestrians can once again cross the historic foot bridge in Lake Park.
Ravine Road Bridge in Lake Park. Photo by Graham Kilmer.
The Ravine Road Bridge in Lake Park has reopened. Well, sort of.
The bridge is open to pedestrian traffic and safe to traverse, but construction is not entirely finished. Anyone that visits the bridge will likely be able to discern this from the piles of lumber for an unfinished staircase and he massive cranes that still tower over the ravine.
The bridge was constructed in 1905. In 2014, the road beneath the bridge was closed when significant structural issues with the bridge were noticed. In 2016, the bridge was closed to pedestrian traffic upon the suggestion of the county’s engineers. At the time, the word was that the bridge was not in any immediate danger of collapse.
The county spent $3.4 million to restore the historic bridge, with $2 million coming from a federal grant, $300,000 raised by the Lake Park Friends group and another $1 million from the county. Zenith Tech is the lead contractor on the project.
Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman‘s district encompasses Lake Park and he led the charge to secure funding for the project. Wasserman released a district newsletter Friday announcing the bridge was open and a grand opening ceremony planned for November.
“Preserving such an important cultural landmark for future generations to use and enjoy would not have been possible without the hard work and financial contributions of Milwaukee County taxpayers and Lake Park Friends,” Wasserman said. “I want to single out Lake Park Friends for the dedication and work they put into this project from the very beginning.”
September Photos
Pre-Rehabilitation Photos
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
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The drive down that road was one of my favorites. It was short but unique. I hope it opens soon.
Thank you for contacting my office with this question. You’re correct, the Parks Department Executive Director gave a presentation to the Parks Committee in 2019 regarding ongoing work to reopen or convert Ravine Road.
Cost assessments were provided at the time for a number of different options being considered for Ravine Road (figures are not inflation adjusted):
In-kind road replacement – $1,040,000
Convert roadway to path – $515,000
One-way road with a bike/pedestrian path separated by barrier – $1,382,000
One-way road with a bike/pedestrian path separated by curb/vegetation clearing – $1,387,000
Close roadway, remove pavement, and restore native vegetation – $193,000
My colleague in the Parks Dept, Jeremy Lucas, also noted that their 5-year capital improvement program doesn’t have the planning & design for the road replacement scheduled until 2026. No decision will be made on Ravine Road without plenty of opportunities for community input.
Sheldon A. Wasserman
Supervisor, District 3
Chair, Parks & Culture Committee
(p) 414.278.4237
Seems they could easily re-open Ravine Road, as is, to pedestrian and bicycle traffic only. Remove the fencing from the top and replace it with low-profile barricades to prevent vehicle traffic from using it. Perhaps this is already planned and hasn’t been mentioned. Since the bridge itself no longer poses a hazard to travel underneath it, presumably it would be safe to re-open it.
And another question: The road was in use until its closure in 2016, IIRC. Has its condition deteriorated so much since then that it may no longer just be repaired and re-opened for vehicular traffic? Not clear what the holdup is on this except that one or two homeowners up top have objected to it. Ravine Road has been there, like the bridge above it, for over a hundred years. Never used much, frankly, by anyone travelling between Lake Drive above and Lincoln Memorial Drive below. But the curvy, steep ravine roadway always been kind of an interesting feature of Lake Park–and a fun little shortcut up (or down) the hill. Long past time to just re-open it.
Please just reopen the two way road it always was. The alternatives strike me as solutions to something that was never a problem. Driving up or down that stretch is one of the gems of the entire park system. There are multiple walking paths along the entire length of Lake Park. There is no need for another. It was envisioned as a street, so let’s not deviate from that wonderful plan. Re-open the road.