DOT: Misfit bridge components will delay Veil Street bridge opening about a month

Craig Hardy, project manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, told the Watertown Common Council that assembly problems with prefabricated components will delay completion of the Veil Street bridge replacement by roughly four to five weeks.

Hardy said the contractor delivered arches, spandrels and girders that largely fit their individual shop drawings but do not align together on site. "A lot of the backfill has been completed around the bridge abutments," Hardy said, then described a repeated mismatch: "there's many instances of the 16 anchor rods that we have, about two thirds of them don't line up the way they should." He said measured offsets range from about two to four inches in some locations.

The council was shown photos and a technical explanation of the parts involved: girders span across the channel, spandrels are vertical members that connect the arch to the girder, and the arch pieces tie into a keystone in the girder. Hardy said the department opted against field "hacks" such as cutting members or adding grout because those fixes could reduce concrete cover over reinforcement or create grout repairs that may pop out over time. "Our bridges are designed to last 75 years or more, and so we need to take not just the short term, but the long term into account," he said.

To confirm whether the shop fabrication or the design is at fault, the contractor performed a 3D scan of the underside of the structure last Thursday. Hardy said the scan data are data‑heavy and the project team is still processing the points; once compared to the plans the team will know which members must be refabricated. He said refabrication and shipping will add approximately four to five weeks to the schedule, moving an expected early‑spring opening to mid‑April.

Jim Ottinger, Wisconsin DOT project development chief, joined Hardy on the call. Ottinger confirmed the state inspects deliveries on site and that the prime contractor is responsible for quality of subcontracted fabrication. The prime contractor named in council remarks is Zenith Tech; the bridge components were fabricated in‑state near the Manitowoc area, according to Hardy.

Council members pressed DOT officials on quality control and whether inspections could have prevented the problem by dry‑fitting components at the fabricator. Hardy and Ottinger said the contractor controls its means and methods and typically decides whether to dry‑fit at the plant; DOT inspectors perform verification when pieces arrive. "We leave a lot of that control up to the contractor to determine when they want to dry fit it," Hardy said. Ottinger added that statewide resource limits affect how many front‑end inspections the department can perform.

Hardy told the council the contractor and state negotiated winter work and a revised liquidated damages clause: liquidated damages were increased from $2,500 per day to $5,000 per day for any days after March 1 that the bridge is not open to traffic. He said liquidated damages are assessed to help the state recover costs for added traffic control, inspection and other administrative expenses; if a subcontractor is found at fault the prime contractor may seek recovery from that sub under their contract.

Council members expressed repeated concern about the economic harm to downtown Main Street businesses and asked the DOT to prioritize delivery of the scan results. Alder Schmidt requested that the city be provided the contracting officer name, the contract officer representative and a copy of the contract and any amendments so the council can review who had authority for contract changes.

Hardy said the arch and spandrel pieces are aesthetic elements that are not the primary load‑bearing members; the main center girders that carry traffic weight have not shown structural issues. He said the contractor paused on site work while the team waits for final scanned measurements to determine which components must be remade.

The council and DOT agreed to continue regular updates; DOT said it will provide the Main Street program and council staff with the final slide deck and any new scan results as soon as they become available.

Ending: DOT officials emphasized the intent to deliver a long‑lived structure rather than a faster, short‑term fix; council members asked DOT to push the contractor for scan results and also asked the city to collect contract documentation for council review.