VIDEO | Grant to replace Woodford Bridge in Young America triggers mixed emotions

Town of Barton, WI – The Town of Barton has secured a federal grant to replace the Woodford Drive steel bridge that runs over the Milwaukee River.  The bridge, located in the hamlet of Young America, dates to 1891 and the days of horse and buggy. The bridge used to be open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic but is now fenced off for “safety.”

Town chairwoman Kris Turner said the grant also involves the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

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According to the Town of Barton website:

The new structure will provide a secondary access route to the Young America neighborhood by reconnecting Woodford Drive east and west of the Milwaukee River. Current access to the Young America area is from N. River Road.   

Turner said the grants, which were encouraged by Washington County, would cover $1.6 million of the cost to replace the bridge.

“It’s going to be a vehicular bridge with a walking path on the side,” said Turner.

A tour of the east and west side of the Woodford Bridge shows an overgrown narrow path on the west side eventually leading to River Road.

“All that will be fixed,” said Turner. “The designs aren’t even done yet, so they’ve just started. I really don’t know what it’s going to look like at this point, but there will be open meetings that you can come and look at it.”

Questioned whether the $1.6 million would cover the road construction too on either end of the bridge, Turner said, “I’m assuming so. I don’t have the figures in front of me; there’s so many feet it will cover, so many feet of approach.”

While the bridge was a comfortable crossing for single-vehicle traffic years ago, Turner confirmed the new bridge would have 2-lane traffic. She also confirmed no land would be taken to facilitate the approach even though the location of the road on the west side is close to the Suckow Mill property.

“There will be no land that is necessary to be taken,” Turner said. “That’s guaranteed, as far as I know, that’s what the designer told me, that we don’t have any right-of-way issues. But again, once the design is done, we will know more.”

Turner confirmed construction is slated for 2027 and there are “many things that need to be done prior to construction and it’s all handled by the state. I don’t have any input on that.”

Below is the Woodford Bridge application submitted by Barton Town chairwoman Kris Turner.

“This is not to hurt anyone,” said Turner. “This is to make the roads better. The town does not have a lot of money to put towards roads, definitely not bridges, and to get this kind of financing from the state at this time is phenomenal.”

Neighbors in Young America, like John Pocian have some reservations about the Woodford Bridge project, including predictions of a sizable increase in traffic on a road that’s not designed for up to 750 vehicles a day.

Turner predicted that amount of traffic isn’t likely, even if people discover the shortcut between Salisbury Road and Greentree Road to Main Street.

“At 25 miles an hour, I don’t think a lot of people take that route when they can take the route on Newark that’s 45 miles an hour,” she said.

Questioned whether police would be monitoring the area or if a speedbump would be installed to deter high traffic volume, Turner said, “no.”

More data on traffic count will be available, according to Turner, once a study is done by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

Poican and his neighbors had other concerns about how they were never contacted by the town board regarding the bridge replacement.

“A few months ago, it was brought to the attention of the homeowners here by Ben Naylor (owner of Naylor’s Custom Metal) that the township of Barton had sought federal funding for the demolition and reconstruction of the long-closed metal bridge,” said Poican.

“To our shock and amazement, they received 100% funding for the project at no cost to the township.  The people that live here believe the current board are grabbing at money for an unnecessary and wasteful project just so the town won’t have to face the cost of removal of said bridge with the town’s own funds.”

Turner said the meetings were posted appropriately. “This has been on the town board agenda for quite some time, and we never had anybody there. One of the gentlemen, two of them, have known since March of 2023 that we were applying for this grant, and only in March of 2024, did they come forward.”

Questioned whether she thought the new Woodford Bridge would change the dynamic of that community of Young America, Turner said, “no.”

“I do not. Because it’s not a destination place, and it really doesn’t go anywhere.”

The bridge on Lighthouse Lane is also being replaced. Turner said that cost is covered by a grant with an 80 / 20 split. “Twenty percent is split in half between the county and the town. So, the town is only going to pay 10% of that cost.”

Turner said both bridge replacements will occur at the same time in 2027.  “I asked the state for that so if we would do the Lighthouse bridge before or after, there would be more traffic that might go through Young America, and I did not want that. So, by having them completed at the same time, people will find a different alternative, and we won’t have that traffic going through Young America.”

The future of the wooden bridge over the Eisenbahn Trial is reportedly under the jurisdiction of the railroad. Turner said the town is responsible for maintaining the wooden bridge.

Below is a 5-page letter between neighbors in Young America and Turner.

Click the arrow in the bottom left corner to advance the page

The Town has selected an engineering firm to begin survey and design for the new bridge. The design process is expected to take approximately two years. Construction, which will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, is currently scheduled for 2027.

Public informational meetings are planned to share more information about the project as the design progresses. Additional information will be included on the Town of Barton’s website, when available.