OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The thousands of drivers who use the Main Street Bridge in Oshkosh every day will need to find a different route starting Sept. 2 due to a multi-million dollar repair project.
- The Main Street Bridge in Oshkosh will be closed for seven months starting in September.
- The repair project is expected to cost $6 million.
- Drivers and pedestrians will need to detour to the Jackson Street Bridge this winter.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, edited for web. )
Starting Sept. 2, the Main Street Bridge will be closed for repairs.
"The Main Street Bridge in Oshkosh was originally built in 1973," Bill Bertrand, Winnebago County project manager for the DOT, says.
Bertrand says they found several issues with the Main Street Bridge during their last inspection in 2020.
"Electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and structural components of the bridge," he says.
He says while repairs are necessary, the bridge is still safe.
"We schedule our improvement projects before it would ever get to the point where the bridges would become unsafe," he says.
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Len and Deb Wesner live in Oshkosh and often bike over the Main Street Bridge.
"It needs it," Deb says of the repairs.
"Yeah, should have been done a long time ago," Len says.
The bridge will be closed until mid April, according to Bertrand.
"I think it's a great time to do it, when the boating season is at a minimal," Matt Slaats, an Oshkosh resident who drives his boat under the bridge every week.
The boating season ends Oct. 15, and Bertrand says boats will be able to drive under the bridge until then.
Drivers and pedestrians, however, will be forced to detour to Jackson Street starting Sept. 2.
"Just gives people an excuse to explore other areas of downtown Oshkosh," Slaats says.
The state has allocated $6 million for the project.
"It is fairly typical, though we do recognize it's a significant investment," Bertrand says. "But we do need to invest in the highways and the bridges."
Bertrand says 10,500 vehicles cross the Main Street Bridge each day
"Please exercise caution and remain patient during our construction project," he says.
More information can be found on the project website.
