Premier Partners
Gateway Feature
WI River Bridge Project Moves Toward Completion
February 2023 -- The partnership between Dane and Sauk Counties took another step closer to connecting the Great Sauk State Trail with the Walking Iron State Trail, in Dane County, when MSA Professional Services, Inc. and Westbrook Associates were awarded the contract, late last year, to finalize the engineering plans for and construct the year-round multi-use Wisconsin River Recreational Bridge.
Construction of the bridge is expected to begin in early 2024 with completion late that year.
The first step was in 2019 when the partners announced plans to conduct a feasibility study of building a bridge over the Wisconsin River to connect the Great Sauk State Trail with the Walking Iron State Trail. Walking Iron State Trail, as now envisioned, is the seven-mile trail corridor from the Wisconsin River crossing site to the Village of Mazomanie.
The study explored design and cost options for a 500-foot bridge for pedestrian, bicycle, and snowmobile use in the existing rail corridor. The location is the former site of the 100-year-old Sauk City rail bridge demolished in 2018 after years of disuse and failure of a support pier during spring floods.