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A barricaded historic pedestrian bridge in Milwaukee’s Lake Park can be restored, according to a new report by a structural engineering firm with expertise in repairing historic bridges. Lake Park Friends (LPF) enlisted and funded the study by TranSystems Corporation, a nationwide engineering firm. According to its website, TranSystems “has excelled in the planning, design and management of some of the largest transportation projects in the nation,” including Chicago’s Wacker Drive and Congress Parkway Interchange Reconstruction and New York City’s revitalization of its High Bridge.

Ravine Road Bridge Timeline: A Long and Winding Saga Read Timeline >>

TranSystems concluded that “concrete testing results indicate that the Lake Park Arch Bridge over Ravine Road could be rehabilitated to meet the project objectives of ensuring a long-term service life [of a] pedestrian bridge that provides safe pedestrian passage while maintaining structural integrity and load capacity for at least 50 years.” Lake Park Friends sought independent evaluation of the historic bridge “to both determine the feasibility of rehabilitating versus replacing the bridge and to help Milwaukee County meet its historic preservation regulatory compliance requirements,” according to LPF’s website, where the report is posted. Milwaukee’s splendid Lake Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992; this bridge is one of five identified as “contributing resources” in that designation.

Last spring, TranSystems analyzed 20 concrete samples from the bridge. Their report states: “None of the concrete testing results reviewed would eliminate rehabilitation as a feasible alternative for this structure, nor would they prevent remediation of the conditions found in these tests results, which are typical for historic concrete bridge rehabilitation projects.” GRAEF (Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer and Associates, Inc.), the county’s go-to engineering firm, had previously asserted that “the bridge had run its life cycle, and replacement should be considered,” according to a county report.

TranSystems also evaluated the bridge’s capacity and concluded that the bridge is structurally sound and meets today’s load-rating standards for a pedestrian bridge, said Colleen Reilly, LPF’s president. County officials are reviewing the reports. Guy Smith, the newly appointed parks director, told the Shepherd Express that county decision makers will “keep an open mind” about a bridge solution. Officials previously had been pushing to replace the bridge since its first recent closure in 2014.

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Reilly told the Shepherd that “results of TranSystems’ evaluations are very encouraging that the bridge can successfully be rehabilitated—and for far less money than previous restoration and replacement estimates of $1.8 to $2.6 million, respectively.” LPF spent approximately $50,000 for the studies. In June 2016, Chip Brown of Wisconsin’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) informed Milwaukee County that to consider a replacement bridge, due diligence “must demonstrate that the bridge cannot be feasibly repaired.” The SHPO monitors proposed projects relating to structures on the National Register of Historic Places, a division of the National Parks Service.

Demolition Only a ‘Last Resort’

Lake Park Update In January, Milwaukee County Parks applied for a federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant to replace the Ravine Road Bridge. Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), which manages TAP grants, announced the awarding of a $2 million grant for that purpose on September 6th. Grants awarded for replacement of historic bridges sometimes are applied toward a feasible rehabilitation. Robert Schmidt, WisDOT’s Southeast regional contact for TAP grants, told the Shepherd by email, “If Milwaukee County determines that a bridge rehab would be a more appropriate cost-effective treatment, WisDOT would more than likely approve the change in project scope.” Colleen Reilly, president of Lake Park Friends, said that TransSystems reported in its second study that Milwaukee County’s officials previous concerns about the bridge’s safety “were based on incorrect engineering assumptions about the bridge’s construction.”

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), America’s most celebrated landscape architect and co-creator of New York’s Central Park, designed Lake Park starting in 1892, along with Riverside and Washington parks and Newberry Boulevard. In keeping with Olmsted’s master plan, renowned Milwaukee architects Alfred C. Clas and George Bowman Ferry of Ferry & Clas designed the Ravine Road Arch Bridge in 1905 as part of a cluster of neoclassical structures, including the famous Lake Park Pavilion and curvilinear “Grand Staircase” leading to the Lakefront. Milwaukee’s Central Library and the Pabst Mansion are among the architect’s other works. One of Wisconsin’s first concrete bridges, Ravine Road Arch Bridge features distinctive circular and teardrop-shaped cutouts, which are considered early examples of architectural Modernism. It may also be the first rib-arch bridge to use the Khan System of reinforced concrete, which later became the industry standard.

Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission must approve any plans for the bridge since Lake Park is located within a historic district. Carlen Hatala, senior preservation planner for the City of Milwaukee, oversaw research for a 65-page “cultural heritage assessment” of the bridge’s significance in June 2016. As a panelist at a public meeting about the bridge in February 2017, Hatala said that “it does not make sense” to see a structure on the National Register of Historic Places as expendable after the considerable effort required to get it listed.

In response to county officials promoting its replacement, Hatala asked, “Why are we looking at this historic bridge differently than the recent restoration of City Hall?” She added, “Demolition must absolutely be the last resort, after all repair options have been exhausted,” and that “replicas are constructed usually only after a structure has been lost or damaged beyond repair, such as in a hurricane.”

Milwaukee County Parks does not have any staff specifically tasked with historic preservation. However, Smith notes that the department’s landscape architects often consider historic issues while planning projects. Reilly anticipates that a public meeting about the bridge will be held after county officials review TranSystems’ reports. She added that LPF has enlisted pledges totaling about $875,000 toward a $1 million fundraising commitment that the volunteer-led nonprofit organization has made to Milwaukee County to address the bridge’s long-term needs.

Related: Ravine Road Bridge Timeline: A Long and Winding Saga

Virginia Small is member of Lake Park Friends.