Sturgeon Bay Bridges featuring the Mesabi Miner

(Update: live feed web cam)

All three roads across Sturgeon Bay have draw spans because big boats come through a canal from Lake Michigan to the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding facility on the bay side.

The first bridge a boat coming from the lake encounters is Bayview Bridge, WI-42+57. (Bridge Hunter)

This is the fifth photo posted by Skip Heckel when the longest boat on the Great Lakes came through town.

This photo motivated this posting because the open design of the pier and Skip's angle allows you to see the short part of a trunnion bascule bridge. There would be a lot of counterweight hanging off that short part to offset the leverage that the road span has. The height of the trunnion bearing in the pier would be at the road surface. Note that the bridge deck is an open grate. This is to reduce the wind load when the leaves are raised. But they can make the tires wiggle back-and-forth as you drive across them. And they typically make a lot of tire noise. It is rather creepy if you don't know what to expect.

I thought this 1978 bridge used steel girders until I saw this photo:

Robert Thompson from Bridge Hunter

Kiefer J Kohlbeck posted
Kaye E Barker, going under the highway bridge in sturgeon bay, July 4th, 2019

Ian Ebert posted
[The freighter is Edwin H. Gott, a footer.]

The next bridge is Maple-Oregon Street, another trunnion bascule bridge. (Bridge Hunter)

Brian Bassett, Jun 2017, from Google

This is the seventh photo posted by Skip Heckel when the big boat came through town.

As expected, this photo shows that the movable spans use steel girders. But the approach spans use pre-stressed concrete girders. The use of pre-stressed girders makes me suspect that this bridge is relatively new. Sure enough, it was built in 2008. [Bridge Hunter] The need to shut down the Sturgeon Bay Bridge for rehabilitation  helped motivate the funding of this second downtown bridge.

One of  15 photos Gerry Grzyb posted of the Mesabi Miner coming through town, Jan 20, the last boat in for layup.
Passing through the Oregon St. bridge after making a 30 degree pivot to line up for both Oregon and Michigan bridges (mandatory!)
Gerry Grzyb Well, they are all here now. I hereby declare the 2018 edition of the Sturgeon Bay Men's Club to be now in session! (They all have men's names--not my fault!). Oh, and since the Mesabi Miner got stuck in ice in its last loaded journey (to Nanticoke), and stuck in ice TWICE coming back to enter layup, if you see a crew member, do NOT offer him a drink with ice in it, or you may face a new kind of ice bucket challenge!
Gerry Grzyb All you could want to know about the Mesabi Miner, with lotsa pix. It is the 4th of the 13 "footers" built, so we have the first (Cort) latest (Tregurtha) and 4th. BTW, all are over 35 years old. Great Lakes may have brutal winters, but at least no corroding saltwater! http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/mesabi.htm

3:53 video @ 0:55
US Coast Guard Mackinaw

 

Jim Connolly Photography posted
The 1004 foot Edwin Gott, Sturgeon Bay.
[I presume it is headed to FBS for winter layup and some repairs, upgrades and/or inspection.]
Jim Connolly shared

The third bridge is the first bridge built across the bay --- Sturgeon Bay or Michigan Street Bridge.

 (Bridge Hunter; Satellite) It was finished in 1931, rehabilitated in 1979 and 2011. It was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 17, 2008. The Bridge Hunter page contains an paper by Shawn Fairchild concerning the preservation of this bridge.

Peninsula Pulse Newspaper posted, cropped
DOOR LENS: The S.S. Badger made it into Sturgeon Bay this morning, as shown here in a photo by Darrick DeMeuse.
Craig Farah: Is it being refurbished or what's going on nobody talking about why it's there.
Gerald Jensen: They also will be sand-blasting the hull (down to bare steel) and giving her a new paint job. Hasn't had a complete re-painting since the C&O railroad owned it.
Peninsula Pulse Newspaper: Craig Farah Routine maintenance every five years. It's in the story we shared.
[And the Coast Guard requires an inspection every five years.]

Exit78, copied from Google
A bridge we crossed numerous times on a 2009 camping trip to Door County, Wisconsin was involved in an accident that badly damaged the front of a Class A motorhome.

This photo makes it obvious that it is a Scherzer rolling bridge. Bridge Hunter has photos explaining that the cast iron rolling members wer replaced by machined steel plates.

Robert Thompson from Bridge Hunter

The Exit78 article explains that the driver was not at fault. He was caught in a traffic jam. Note that the RV was crushed right next to the bridge tender's house. The problem is that part of the rehabilitation was to remote the operation of this bridge from the Oregon Street Bridge. You can see in the above photo a light and camera that allows the bridge tender to watch the boat go under the bridge. But they evidently didn't install cameras to allow the remote bridge tender to see if the roadway was clear. I'll bet they have now installed some more cameras.

Skip Heckel posted 12 photos with the comment: "I hit the trifecta yesterday morning in Sturgeon Bay. Three ships I hadn't photographed before all came in for winter layup at Bay Ship. The STEWART J. CORT was the first ship to come through the Sturgeon Bay ship canal followed by the JOHN G. MUNSON and finally the CASON J. CALLAWAY." His last photo is particularly interesting because it shows two of the three bridges are already up and the Callaway is following right behind another one. I presume it is the Munson. Considering the Great Lakes was scheduled to close Janurary 15, these three were a little late. The Coast Guard obviously had to break a channel in the ice and all three were expected to use that channel before it froze again.

Skip Heckel posted 18 photos of the last ship of the 2017 shipping season coming through the canal and town. It was the 1004' Mesabi Miner.

One of six photos Gerry Grzyb posted of the Stewart J. Cort going through town, Jan 16
[A caption on another photo explains: "Bow of the Cort, the first 1000 footer on the Great Lakes. The propeller symbol next to the anchor means it has bow thrusters." Note that the bridge is on the bow. That means it is an old boat. It appears that it has not been converted to self-unloading.]

Three of the nine photos Gerry Grzyb posted of three boats coming through town. This posting also has a huge comment explaining several aspects of lake shipping.

a, Cason J Callaway
The Callaway approaches the old steel bridge.
[This would be another old Laker since the bridge is on the bow. Another photo shows that its unloading conveyor boom is on the stern.]

b

The Cort passing through new bridge.

c
The Munson threads the new bridge.
[Another old Laker with the bridge on the bow. The put the self-unloading conveyor boom at the bow on this one.]

Ian Ebert posted
[The freighter is Edwin H. Gott, a footer.]

Ian Ebert posted
[The freighter is Edwin H. Gott, a footer.]

3:53 video @ 2:18
US Coast Guard Mackinaw

 

Photography by Scott posted
The 1004 foot long Interlake Steamship Company's Mesabi Miner arrived in Sturgeon Bay, WI for winter layup yesterday, 1-14-23. 
Scott Kruger shared

Winter 2022 layup:

One of ten photos of the Mesabi Miner going through town shared by James Torgeson
The shipping season is over for Interlake Steamship's 1004' M/V Mesabi Miner (1977) as she "threads the needles" on her way to winter layup at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.
Marilyn Mathieson: The ship is longer than the distance between the two bridges? It seems so by this pick.
Howard Hathaway: Mesabi Minor is 1004ft in length and length btwn the 2 bridges is approx 768ft (+/-). Also, the bridge openings are not centered for a straight shot coming in from the Bay View Bridge so they have to twist a bit to line up and move through both bridges.

One of four photos of the Mesabi Miner going through town shared by Gilbert Baumans

1 of 6 photos posted by Interlake Steamship Co.
Sea trials continue today on our new vessel, the 639-foot M/V Mark W. Barker, which once again departed from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding this morning.
Here she is going through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. 

Feb 27, 2022: Peggy Captain posted
Off to work today. More pics later. Sarter Marine Towing Jonathan Polderman: Looks like the Minor is out of dry dock. Any idea which ship might be going in next?
Peggy Captain: Jonathan Polderman Joyce L. VanEnkevort and the Herbert C. Jackson will be bunking together. 

2:45 video of Mesabi Miner going through the bridges in 2022 (source)

Bonus

Since these notes have quite a few photos of the Mesabi Minor, I'll put this photo here.

Interlake Steamship Company posted

Mesabi Miner Minions!

Animated pressurized air tanks for starting the main engines!

Janey Anderson shared

Gotta love this!!😂 Someone on the Mesabi Miner has a great sense of humour and a good steady hand!

Connor Rouse commented on Janey's share
Engine room on the Nunavik