In this video from Building Wisconsin TV, we show how funds from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act are being used to replace two important Wisconsin bridges that have fallen into disrepair. We start in Watertown to check out the replacement of the Main St. bridge over the Rock River first built in 1844. In was replaced in 1881 and again in 1931 when it was named the Cole Memorial Bridge after Watertown pioneer John W. Cole. Wisconsin Operating Engineers President Terry McGowan explains the project along with stories about a previously unknown tunnel that was discovered when the old bridge was removed. This 93 year old bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2026 but with assistance from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it was started in 2024. Host Stuart Keith then travels up to the I-39/90/94 bridge that crosses the Wisconsin River in Columbia County to learn about another old bridge in need of replacement. He meets with US Senator Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson to learn about the reconstruction of this major bridge and how important projects like these are being financed through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021.
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