16th Street Viaduct closed until April for beam replacement

By David Clarey

USA Today Network

The 16th Street Viaduct bridge will be closed until April, after city inspectors found a worn floor beam in early December.

The lengthy closure comes as city workers need time to fabricate a replacement beam for the bridge and install it, according to a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Public Works. The bridge is closed at South 16th Street and West Pierce Street, and at the bottom of the viaduct ramp.

West Pierce Street remains open to traffic.

“Due to the level of wear, this specific floor beam was determined to require immediate replacement,” the spokesperson said in an email.

While this December closure was not planned, it came after an inspection found “accelerated wear compared to the surrounding bridge elements” and the department decided to close the entire bridge in response.

The department was anticipating additional maintenance work to be done on the bridge already.

A portion of the bridge between Canal and Clybourn streets, which is over the Menomonee River, was already closed for rehabilitation as part of a long-term project.

The 16th Street Viaduct bridge has a storied place in Milwaukee‘s history. It was the site of a prominent civil rights march over the city’s lack of an open-housing ordinance in 1967.