County Highway M bridge to close

By Valorie Brecht County Highway M west of Willard will be closed starting this Monday, Jan. 20, as one of the bridges on that highway is being replaced.

The 5-mile stretch of road runs north to south, and will be closed from County Highway MM on the north end to County Highway GG/Willard Road on the south end. Local traffic will still have access to 153 Road on the north side of the bridge and Rock Creek Road on the south side, and all property owners within the closure area will have access to their property. However, all truck traffic must use highways MM and GG.

The segment of Highway M is expected to be closed from Jan. 20 through October, with an estimated completion date of October. The bridge crosses the South Fork Eau Claire River and has been subject to flooding from time to time. The old threespan structure will be removed and replaced with a seven-span structure.

“There are a couple of issues with the bridge. We’ve had flooding over the top. Also the exposed metal has been rusting; so the support members underneath are in poor condition with the rust,” explained Clark County Highway Commissioner Brian Duell.

The construction cost is approximately $3 million. In addition, construction engineering, Wisconsin Department of Transportation oversight and materials testing will be approximately $350,000; and the design engineering cost will be another $350,000; for a total of $3.7 million.

The bridge replacement is being funded at approximately 80% federal and state funding, and 20% county funding. The county’s out-of-pocket expense will be

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about $900,000.

“We are working on outside funding sources to cover the county part,” said Duell.

WisDOT is managing the project as part of the Local Bridge Improvement Assistance Program. The project is also receiving funding through the Federal Bureau of Structures’ Bridge Replacement Program.

The WisDOT project leader is Brandon Kaiser, who can be reached at 715341-4363.

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