16th Street Bridge Closure Extended Three Months

James E. Groppi Unity Bridge. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The full closure of the 16th Street Bridge will now stretch several months longer than originally expected, pushing its reopening from April into July.

In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Public Works (DPW) said the delay stems from ongoing efforts to replace a deteriorated floor beam identified during a detailed inspection late last year. The 0.8-mile viaduct, formally known as the James E. Groppi Unity Bridge, was first shut down in an emergency closure on Dec. 5 after engineers determined one beam on the 1929-era structure showed “accelerated wear” and required immediate replacement.

DPW said that while crews have spent the past several months designing and fabricating a custom steel replacement, supply and production delays have slowed progress. The city now expects the new beam to arrive around June 1, with installation to follow immediately.

With crews scheduled to work six days per week, officials estimate the repair work will be completed sometime in July. At that point, the southern portion of the bridge, including access south of W. Canal Street, is expected to reopen to traffic and restore a key connection to the Menomonee Valley and Potawatomi Hotel and Casino.

The larger planned rehabilitation of the northern portion of the bridge is continuing on schedule.

Compounding Closures

The extended shutdown continues to disrupt a heavily used north-south route that carried between roughly 9,000 and 12,000 vehicles per day prior to the closure, according to Wisconsin Department of Transportation data.

The timing also overlaps with other major infrastructure work. The nearby 27th Street Bridge, a key alternate route, closed in February as part of the ongoing Interstate 94 East-West Project and is not expected to reopen until later in 2026. Future plans also call for reconstruction of the 35th Street Bridge, further tightening available crossings over the Menomonee Valley.

Milwaukee County Transit System Route 24 remains detoured via S. 6th Street due to the ongoing closure. The PurpleLine, which uses 27th Street, is also detoured to S. 6th Street.

Broader Rehabilitation Still On Track

Even as the emergency repair stretches into summer, DPW says the broader rehabilitation of the bridge’s northern segment remains on schedule. Crews are currently sandblasting and priming structural elements while preparing to remove obsolete movable bridge equipment tied to a long-defunct bascule span.

The full reconstruction project is still expected to wrap up by October 2026. At that point, the entire 16th Street corridor is slated to reopen to traffic.

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