This article needs to be updated.(September 2023) |
Hoan Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 43°01′30″N87°53′56″W / 43.02500°N 87.89889°W |
Carries | 6 lanes of I-794 |
Crosses | Milwaukee River |
Locale | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Official name | Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge |
Maintained by | Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) |
Characteristics | |
Design | Tied arch bridge |
Total length | 3,057.8 m (1.9 mi) [1] |
Width | 15.8 m (51.8 ft) [2] |
Longest span | 185 m (607.0 ft) |
Clearance below | 36.6 m (120.1 ft) [2] |
History | |
Construction start | 1970 |
Opened | 1977 |
Rebuilt | 2000-2001 |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 19230 [2] |
Location | |
The Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge is a tied-arch bridge that connects Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the Lake Freeway across the Milwaukee River inlet. Originally called the Harbor Bridge, it was renamed after Daniel Hoan (Socialist Party), one of the longest serving mayors of Milwaukee.
It was designed by the firm Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff and in 1975 won the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Long Span Bridge Award. Although construction on the bridge lasted briefly from 1970 until 1972, it did not open to traffic until 1977 due to the era's freeway revolts against the planned Milwaukee County freeway system. This halted completion of the connecting roadways and led to the Hoan Bridge being known as "The Bridge to Nowhere."
It was widely held that the bridge in its unfinished state was used as the site of a car chase scene in the movie The Blues Brothers . However, author Mathiew J. Prigge, in a two part article on the bridge's history for the Shepherd Express, pointed out that the film was actually shot two years after the bridge was opened in 1977, he identified the scenes as being filmed on another incomplete section of I-794. [3] Eventually, the bridge connections were completed in 1998, when the Lake Parkway (Wisconsin Highway 794) opened between the bridge's southernmost exit, connecting the bridge between the Bay View neighborhood and downtown Milwaukee's southeastern tip.
The Hoan Bridge was temporarily closed on December 13, 2000, after two of the three support beams of the lakefront span failed, causing the north-bound lanes to buckle and sag by 4 feet leaving the span in a near collapsed state. No motorists were injured when the bridge failed. On December 28, 2000, engineers used explosives to remove the damaged section. The southbound lanes were restricted to one lane in each direction for eight months while the damaged northbound span was reconstructed, and the remainder of the bridge underwent extensive rehabilitation and retrofitting. Two lanes in each direction were reintroduced on October 10, 2001, and the bridge was fully reopened the following month. [4] According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, at the time of its failure, the six lanes of the bridge had carried an average of only 36,590 cars per day. [5] A total of $16 million was spent to demolish and replace the damaged section and retrofit the remainder of the bridge. [6] Experts believe that improperly designed welds between the lower lateral bracing and floorbeams along with a period of extreme cold and snow led to the partial collapse of the Hoan Bridge. [7] [8]
A total rehabilitation of the bridge has been nearly completed (as of September 2016) in conjunction with related construction on I-794 and its interchange. [9] The rehabilitation plan removed and replaced the bridge deck, other structural adjustments, and the cleaning and repainting of the bridge's steel. The improvements are expected to extend the life span of the bridge by 40 to 50 years. [10]
In May 2018, a private campaign named "Light the Hoan bridge [11] " was created to light up the bridge. The project will cost between $4 million and $5 million. As of January 30, 2020, founders of this group stated they were still on track to reach their goal of being lit by the time Milwaukee hosts the Democratic National Convention later that summer. The next fundraising milestone is set for mid-April. [12] After 2 years of fundraising the bridge was finally lit on October 22, 2020. The bridge will be lit every night thereafter, featuring various colors and light sequences. Light the Hoan kicked off a $2 million fundraising campaign in August 2023. The initial goal was to install the east-side lights in time for the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The Republican National Convention host committee said on July 8th, 2024 that it will contribute to the Light the Hoan's efforts to raise funds to light the east side of the bridge. [13]
Milwaukee is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is the 31st-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in the Midwest. It is the central city of the Milwaukee metropolitan area, the 40th-most populous metro area in the U.S. with 1.57 million residents.
Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern terminus is in Port Huron, Michigan, where it meets with I-69 and crosses the Blue Water Bridge into Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, where the route becomes Ontario Highway 402. It thus lies along the primary overland route from Seattle to Toronto and is the only east–west Interstate Highway to have a direct connection to Canada.
Interstate 43 (I-43) is a 191.55-mile-long (308.27 km) Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highway 32 (WIS 32) runs concurrently with I-43 in two sections and I-94, I-894, US 10, US 41, US 45, and WIS 57 overlap I-43 once each. There are no auxiliary or business routes connected to I-43, though an alternate route to direct traffic during road closures is signed along local and state highways from Milwaukee County north into Brown County.
The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection of over 34,000 works of art and total gallery space of 150,000 sq. ft. make it the largest art museum in the state of Wisconsin and one of the largest art museums in the United States.
Daniel Webster Hoan was an American politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1940. A lawyer who had served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1910 to 1916, Hoan was a prominent figure in Socialist politics and Milwaukee's second Socialist mayor. His 24-year administration remains the longest continuous Socialist administration in United States history. A panel of 69 scholars in 1993 ranked him among the ten best mayors in American history.
The Marquette Interchange is a major freeway interchange in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, located near Marquette University where Interstate 43, I-94, and I-794 meet. Originally built in the 1960s, the interchange underwent a total rebuild between 2004 and 2008, and was officially opened on August 19, 2008, after what was at the time the largest construction project in state history. During the early 2000s, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) had followed I-94 through the interchange. This had changed when I-41 was designated in the Milwaukee area. US 41 now follows I-41 through the Zoo Interchange instead.
Interstate 794 is a 3.75-mile (6.04 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in Milwaukee County in the US state of Wisconsin. It is one of two auxiliary Interstates in the Milwaukee metropolitan area, serves the lakefront and the Port of Milwaukee, and connects downtown with the southeastern suburbs of St. Francis, Cudahy, and South Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station is an Amtrak railway station located near the western edge of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is served by the six daily round trips of the Hiawatha and the single daily round trip of the Borealis with a free shuttle between the station and the airport terminal. The Empire Builder also uses these tracks but does not stop. The station opened on January 18, 2005.
State Trunk Highway 119, better known as the "Airport Spur", is a connector freeway in Milwaukee, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The 1.89-mile (3.04 km) freeway connects Interstate 94 (I-94) to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. WIS 119 has had many different iterations dating back to 1919, and since has had five other variations including the modern day route. These different roads were short lived but were located throughout the state of Wisconsin in the Milwaukee area, Manitowoc and Green Bay.
Wisconsin Highway 57 is a 191.82-mile-long (308.70 km) state highway in Wisconsin, United States. It runs from its southern terminus at WIS 59 in Milwaukee to its northern terminus at WIS 42 in Sister Bay. Much of WIS 57 parallels Interstate 43 (I-43) and WIS 42, particularly from Saukville to its northern terminus in Sister Bay. The highway runs concurrently with I-43 for 12 miles (19 km) in Ozaukee County. Like most Wisconsin state highways, WIS 57 is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
State Trunk Highway 794, officially the John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway or simply the Lake Parkway, is a 4.76-mile (7.66 km) state highway in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, that goes north–south from downtown Milwaukee to its southern suburbs.
The Zoo Interchange is a freeway interchange on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It forms the junction of Interstate 94, I-894, I-41, US Highway 41 and US 45. It is the busiest and one of the oldest interchanges in the state. It is nicknamed as such because of the Milwaukee County Zoo located on the northwest quadrant of the interchange. The control cities at the interchange are Downtown Milwaukee to the east, Chicago to the south, Madison to the west and Fond du Lac to the north.
Interstate 94 (I-94) runs east–west through the western, central, and southeastern portions of the US state of Wisconsin. A total of 348.23 miles (560.42 km) of I-94 lie in the state.
The Sturgeon Bay Bridge is a historic bridge in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The bridge was built in 1929 and opened July 4, 1931, with a grand parade where it was officially dedicated as a Door County Veterans Memorial which plaques at either end still reads "To honor those who gave of themselves, to their country, in times of need" as a gift by the State of Wisconsin. It was the only bridge linking the mainland to northern Door County after the train/toll bridge was discontinued. The Sturgeon Bay Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 2008, for its unique upper rolling lift bascule and length. After a ten-year battle to save the bridge from demolition and replace in-kind, it was determined by the state to add a second bridge as a sister to meet safety standards. In September 2008, after the opening of a new, parallel, two-lane sister bridge was opened one block away at Oregon Street, the historic bridge was temporarily closed to allow for restoration work to commence. Federal safety standards required four-lane replacement in order to accommodate the heavy traffic loads and congestion caused by the bridge's 3,000 openings annually. The historic bridge and new bridge operate as one system. The historic bridge was reopened in the spring of 2011.
Christopher J. Larson is an American Democratic politician and a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing southeast Milwaukee County since 2011. He was Senate minority leader from 2013 through 2014, and currently serves as Senate Democratic caucus chair.
Compass is a public art work by American artist Gail Simpson, located on the east side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The painted aluminum sculpture was commissioned by the Eastside Business Improvement District #20 to serve as a gateway for pedestrians and vehicular traffic entering the North Avenue commercial zone. A tall stainless steel light post salvaged from the demolition of Milwaukee's Park East Freeway is surrounded by a colorful array of painted aluminum signs that protrude in a spiral formation. Each sign has a distinctive shape and word cut out in a unique typeface intended to reflect the history and character of the neighborhood. The artwork is located in the traffic median on the east side of the North Avenue Bridge. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel architecture critic Whitney Gould called the project, "part sculpture, part signpost."
The Hop, also known as the Milwaukee Streetcar, is a modern streetcar system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The system’s 2.1-mile (3.4 km) original “M” line connects the Milwaukee Intermodal Station and Downtown to the Lower East Side and Historic Third Ward neighborhoods. On April 11, 2024, a 0.4-mile (640 m) Lakefront, or “L” line, to the nearly complete high-rise development The Couture, began offering full daily service. Additional extensions for new lines are currently in the planning stage. The system is owned by the city and operated by Transdev.
In Milwaukee, freeways were constructed in response to an 8.5% increase in population during the 1940s. Road plans were drawn up in the 1950s through the 1970s and several freeways were built. A lack of foresight resulted in several communities experiencing sharp increases in property taxes such as in West Milwaukee, or the complete destruction of vibrant, African-American neighborhoods such as Bronzeville. After a decade of aggressive highway building in the 1960s, support for freeway construction began to wane as neighborhoods started to oppose construction. With the election of John Norquist as mayor in 1988, Milwaukee began to undo some of the damage of its highway construction. The dismantling of the Park East Freeway north of downtown led to a housing and entertainment construction boom and is the location of Fiserv Forum.
Downtown Milwaukee is the central business district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Milwaukee metropolitan area, it is Milwaukee's oldest district and home to many of region's cultural, financial educational and historical landmarks including Milwaukee City Hall, Fiserv Forum and the Milwaukee Art Museum. The city's modern history began in Downtown Milwaukee in 1795 when fur trader Jacques Vieau (1757–1852) built a post along a bluff on the east side, overlooking the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers.
The Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon is an annual marathon held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. It starts at the Italian Community Center on West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee and finishes at Henry Maier Festival Park and has a total elevation gain of 626 feet (191 m). As of 2023, it is the largest marathon held in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon is somewhat unique among American marathons because it does not have a corporate sponsor and is not for charity; instead it is organized by the Badgerland Striders running group on a "for runners, by runners" model.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help)