New weight restrictions on County Highway G bridge to affect traffic ahead of 2025 project

By Cheyenne Thomas At the beginning of this week, any vehicle weighing over 10 tons is now required to take another route to avoid going over the bridge over County Highway G on the northwest end of Greenwood. Recent inspections of the bridge had found that its condition has continued to deteriorate, and the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has decided that a reduced weight restriction of 10 tons is needed to keep the bridge open until it is replaced in the summer of 2025. Failure to comply with the restrictions will result in fines, as enforcement of the weight limits are set to be carried out by the Clark County Sheriff’s Department and the Greenwood City Police Department.

The project to replace the bridge over the Black River on County Highway G is set to begin next summer on June 15 and be completed next fall around Nov. 14. The approximately $4 million project to replace the bridge had some early setbacks due to the historic value of the bridge requiring the process to follow Federal Historic Preservation Standards, but after no one came forward to purchase the bridge for historic preservation, the process to replace it was able to move forward.

Recent inspections of the bridge structure by the Wisconsin Bureau of Structures have found deterioration of the gusset plates on the bridge are worse than had been observed in previous inspections. According to an e-mail chain provided by Clark County Highway Commissioner Brian Duell, the gusset plates in some spots on the bridges have rusted to the point where they no longer support any weight, transferring the weight of passing vehicles to other portions of the bridge.

“Some of the gusset plates appeared to be far worse than observed in previous inspections,” read an email from Automation and Load Rating Unit Supervisor Alex Pence. “There is so much corrosion on some of the gusset plates, it’s difficult to determine precisely how much ‘good steel’ is remaining.”

The County Highway G bridge is a rather critical one for nearby residents, serving as a connecting point between both residents and businesses on either side of the Black River. Without the bridge, detours approximately 15 miles long will be needed to bypass the river to go in and out of Greenwood on the northwest side. Because of the importance of the connection, the Clark County Highway Department worked to make sure the bridge stays open for as long as possible, which will mean following the lowered weight restrictions and having heavier vehicles — including trucks and agricultural vehicles — detoured from now until the project is completed.

“The county wants to do whatever we possibly can to keep the County Highway G Black River bridge open until construction starts,” said Duell in the email chain. “This bridge is critical for the city of Greenwood, Clark Electric, town of Eaton and town of Warner, EMS and the local resident workforce… There are numerous environmental restrictions we are up against and the construction schedule was set as aggressive as possibly working within the several restrictive windows we have.”

Some of these environmental restrictions complicating the process are in place to avoid in-stream work during the late fall and early spring months. A rare reptile species has been observed overwintering in the area, as well as fish spawning until mid-June, pushing the bridge closure to June 15 of next year. These environmental concerns also mean that the project cannot be pushed forward any earlier, making adherence to the new restrictions crucial in keeping the bridge open as long as possible.

Initial work on the project will begin around Nov. 1 when clearing of brush/ other materials and fencing are put in place on the east and west ends of the bridge. No further work will be done until April 2025 when equipment will be brought to the site. The bridge will be officially closed on June 15, 2025, and will remain closed until the project is complete around Nov. 14, 2025. Because of the aggressive schedule of the bridge replacement, there will be no snowmobiles allowed on the bridge during the 2025-26 winter, since a protective epoxy coating will not be applied until the spring of 2026.