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Hobart engineers keep existing approaches on Wisconsin Street Bridge after hydraulic reanalysis, cutting project time
Summary
City officials said a hydraulic reanalysis showed Wisconsin Street bridge approaches need not be replaced, saving money and shortening the construction timeline from about 18 months to roughly four months.
Mayor Huddlestun told the Board of Public Works and Safety on May 6 that an engineering reanalysis found the approaches to the Wisconsin Street Bridge do not need replacement despite prior concerns about overtopping during 100-year flood events. Keeping the existing approaches and repaving them, he said, will reduce the project schedule from an estimated 18 months to about four months and lower the overall cost to the city.
City Engineer Alex Metz confirmed the reanalysis focused on hydraulic behavior at the bridge and that the firm reexamined whether approach replacement was necessary. Metz said the firm concluded the approach replacement could be deferred, allowing the city to shorten the construction timeline.
The change stems from concerns that past 100-year flood events caused water to crest across the road; the reanalysis addressed those hydraulic conditions and found that replacing the bridge structure itself remains necessary but that the approaches may remain in place and be repaved. Mayor Huddlestun framed the decision as a cost-saving measure that still addresses the bridge structure’s needs.
Next steps discussed by the board included proceeding with plans that retain the existing approaches and updating the public and contractors with the revised schedule. No formal vote was required beyond the board’s acknowledgment of the engineering findings and the project approach reported at the meeting.
