November 13, 2024

By Lane Kimble

LONE ROCK, Wis. — Two beautiful new bridges spanning a scenic stretch of the Wisconsin River in southwest Wisconsin are something of a dichotomy.

They’re built to last a very long time.  And yet, the process to get there–from start to finish–came about relatively rapidly.

“With this method, instead of being here for a groundbreaking, we’re here for a ribbon cutting,” Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator Glenn Fulkerson told a crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening.  “That’s quite a success.”

The “Design Build” method is a new tool WisDOT is experimenting with.  It links engineers with contractors essentially from the get-go, allowing construction to begin even before designs are fully complete and improving communication.

The result in Lone Rock–nestled into the southeast corner of Richland County–was a project completed earlier, more efficiently, and with key safety and traffic flow features.

“We’re excited to continue to innovate through Design-Build, like we did here in Lone Rock, so that we can save time and be more efficient with our construction projects,” WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman said during Monday’s ribbon cutting.

The design process may have been fast, but it wasn’t without forethought.

Surrounded by towering brown rock walls, trees mainly shed of their leaves, and sweeping sandbars, the tawny brown bridges blend right in.

Exactly how they were designed.

“When viewed from the river in your motorboat, canoe or kayak, the visual impact is dramatic,” Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Executive Director Mark Cuppsaid of the new bridges.

The Highway 130 project involved shifting the new alignment a little to the west from the decades-old steel truss structures and replacing them with two 1,000-foot girder bridges.

“It has been an honor to help guide the department in its first true design-build project,” Kraemer North America Project Manager Brent Freeman said.  “And while we couldn’t control the rise and fall of the river, we all definitely rose to the challenge of adaptability to navigate any troubling waters and stay on course.”

Even with Kraemer serving as prime, many WTBA members proudly contributed as subcontractors and consultants on the work including (but not limited to) design lead SRF Consulting Group, Hoffman Construction Company, AECOM, Arbor Green, County Materials, DL Gasser, EXP, HNTB, Interstate Tree, Kapur & Associates, KL Engineering, Lycon, and Mega Rentals.

In the coming months, the surrounding landscape will inevitably shift from autumnal brown to winter white and, next year, the green of spring.  But these stunning, tawny brown bridges should stand the test of time.

“Long after our words have echoed off the bluffs today and our footprints have washed from the sandbars, the new bridges at Lone Rock that span this scenic river of history–this river of a thousand isles–these spectacular bridges will be admired and appreciated for generations,” Cupp said.