Federal shutdown delays some state road, bridge contracts

January 9, 2019 3:30 pm Leave a comment

Uncertainty over federal money for transportation projects amid a partial government shutdown is forcing some states to delay contracts for new road and bridge work.

Tagged with: bridges roads

Local officials: Unanswered questions about bridge plans part of pattern of silence at WisDOT

October 26, 2018 4:03 pm Leave a comment

Local office holders say they have been waiting for weeks for answers to questions about a Wisconsin Department of Transportation plan calling for historically high spending on state bridges.

Tagged with: bridges Dan Fedderly Gov. Scott Walker La Crosse Wisconsin Counties Association Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Cars plunge in Italian highway-bridge collapse; 20 killed

August 14, 2018 12:26 pm Leave a comment

Cars are blocked on the Morandi highway bridge after a section of it collapsed on Tuesday in Genoa, in northern Italy. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed on Tuesday in the Italian port city of Genoa during a violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 45 meters into a heap of rubble.

Tagged with: bridge bridges

Trump’s own tariffs making it harder to rebuild infrastructure

July 3, 2018 10:37 am Leave a comment

The Merchants Bridge is seen over the Mississippi River in St. Louis on June 27. The 127-year-old railroad bridge is at risk of being shut down if it is not replaced soon, but officials are struggling to find a way to pay for needed repairs, especially after tariffs were enacted on imported steel. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

President Donald Trump wants to rebuild the country's transportation system. He also wants to strengthen the U.S. steel industry by placing tariffs on imports.

Tagged with: aluminum bridges Donald Trump steel tariffs

Wisconsin Republicans reduce I-94 funding amid criticism (UPDATE)

June 14, 2018 2:28 pm Leave a comment

The Wisconsin Legislature's budget committee took a detour on Thursday from Gov. Scott Walker's road-funding plan, directing more money toward local road projects amid criticism from Democrats who argued against spending anything more on a stretch of Interstate 94 running near the massive Foxconn Technology Group project.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling bridges Foxconn Gov. Scott Walker Interstate 94 Joint Finance Committee roads

Wisconsin farmers face new bridge restrictions

May 29, 2018 1:19 pm Leave a comment

Wisconsin farmers and truckers are being forced to take long detours and haul half-filled loads to get their products to market as new weight restrictions take effect for nearly 200 bridges.

Tagged with: bridges

Program dedicates $76.4 million for bridge projects across state

May 25, 2018 2:58 pm Leave a comment

Gov. Scott Walker has announced $76.4 million for 113 bridge projects in Wisconsin, according to a news release Friday.

Tagged with: bridges

Climate change raises new risk: Are inland bridges too low?

June 6, 2017 11:13 am Leave a comment

This April 6, 2017 photo shows Milwaukee's South Sixth Street Bridge over the Kinnickinnic River. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District raised the bridge to prevent the waterway from backing up amid downpours. It's a technique cities nationwide are using as officials prepare for more intense rainstorms resulting from a warming climate. (AP Photo/Ivan Moreno)

Climate change is often seen as posing one of the greatest threats now looming over coastal areas. But the risks don't stop there.

Tagged with: bridges

Chippewa Falls students build toothpick bridges

April 3, 2017 1:05 pm Leave a comment

In this Tuesday, March 28, 2017 photo, Evelyn Kelly, Aiden Johnson and Jacoby Yliniemi look over their bridge following its collapse to see where it gave out in Chippewa Falls, Wis. The groups of 3-4 students have spent the last two weeks researching, planning and building their own bridges. Tuesday it was time to put them to the test. (Katy Macek/The Chippewa Herald-Telegram via AP)

Seventh-grader Jacoby Yliniemi dropped a bowl of sand into the bucket being held up by his group's toothpick bridge, bit his lip and then relaxed.

Tagged with: bridges

Study finds nearly 9 percent of state’s bridges ‘structurally deficient’

February 15, 2017 2:02 pm Leave a comment

$This Sept. 11, 2013, file photo shows the bridge on Western Avenue over the Cal-Sag Channel framed by the rusted supports of the closed Chatham St. bridge in Blue Island, Ill. The Western Avenue bridge was classified as both "structurally deficient" and "fracture critical" in federal data for 2012. An analysis of Transportation Department data released by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association on Feb. 15, 2017, says more than 55,000 bridges in the U.S. have been deemed structurally deficient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)$

Nearly 9 percent of Wisconsin's 14,230 bridges are considered to be "structurally deficient," according to a report from a national road builders' group.

Tagged with: American Road & Transportation Builders Association bridges