We’ll start this episode of Building Wisconsin TV in Watertown to check out the replacement of the Main St. bridge that was first built in 1844 as a wood structure. In 1881 an iron made bridge was rebuilt and again in 1931 the bridge was rebuilt and became known as the Cole Memorial Bridge named after Watertown Pioneer John W. Cole. President of the Wisconsin Operating Engineers 139 Terry McGowan walks us through the project and passes along a few stories about an unknown tunnel that was discovered when the old bridge was removed. The 93-year old bridge was originally scheduled for replacement in 2026 but with assistance from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it was started in 2024.
Host Stuart Keith also travels up to the I-39/90/94 bridge that crosses the Wisconsin River in Columbia County to learn about another old bridge in Wisconsin that is in need of replacement. We meet up with US Senator Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson to learn about the reconstruction of this major bridge and how projects like these are being financed through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Bipartisan legislation in 2021.
