1984 Road Lift Bridge over the Kaukauna Navigation Channel in Kaukauna, WI

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; 3D Satellite)

Google Maps calls the road over this bridge Catherine Street, but everything else is calling it Wisconsin Avenue. This bridge replaced a 1925 lift bridge, which replaced a swing bridge. [BridgeHunterPre1984]

Street View

Street View

Lunda Construction Company posted six photos with the comment:

Originally constructed by Lunda Construction in 1984, the Wisconsin Avenue Lift Bridge over the Fox River is one of only two river crossings over the historic Fox Lock system in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.

Designed with a 60-foot vertical lift clearance to allow a wide range of pleasure boats to pass through the Fox River, the bridge featured a striking and uncommon structural profile, setting it apart from traditional vertical lift designs. An intricate system of shafts, massive 120-ton counterweights, and cables powered by an electric motor worked in sync to raise and lower the span, a complex choreography of moving parts that contributed to the bridge's distinctive presence along the skyline.

Just a few years after construction, however, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources closed the Fox Lock Navigational System in 1987 to prevent the spread of invasive species. With river traffic halted, the bridge gradually fell into disrepair.

More than three decades later, that story changed.

In August 2019, as navigation restrictions eased, Lunda Construction was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the now-renamed Veterans Memorial Bridge and restore it to service.

Nearly all rehabilitation work was self-performed by Lunda, including replacing critical lift components and reinstalling the bridge’s refurbished mechanical systems. The effort required both structural and mechanical expertise to return the long-idled bridge to reliable operation.

Today, the bridge stands once again as both a functional river crossing and a distinctive part of the city’s skyline, a reminder that even the most complex structures can find a second life.

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Street View
[The upstream gate of Lock #1 looking downstream
from this bridge.]

The restoration of the five locks in this town was finished by 2015. Those five locks are part of the 17 locks that allowed steamboats to use the Lower Fox River. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) wanted to dismantle the waterway in 1982. Wisconsin State took ownership in 2004 and the 17 locks were restored between 2005 and 2015. [DeBruler]

foxlocks

I wrote these notes assuming that the locks were numbered from upstream to downstream. I believe this photo verifies that I guessed correctly. The CN/C&NW Bridge must be out-of-frame across the top.

Street View
[Lock #4 with Lock #3 in the right background.]

These photos from an Aug 2014 progress report of restoring Locks #3, #2, #1 and Dry Dock Gate show that the restoration was not cheap.

Boldt report

Boldt report

According to Bridge Hunter, this bridge was built in 1984. So my opinion of the USACE goes down yet another notch. Why would a lift bridge be built two years after the USACE decides to terminate navigation on the river? To add insult to injury, the bridge quit working in the early 2000s, just 20 years later. When the USACE transferred ownership of the locks to the state, they must have transferred ownership of this bridge to the city because now the city faces a $2.2m bill to fix the bridge by May 1, 2021, a date specified by the U.S. Coast Guard in Jun 2018. According to the Mayor of Kaukauna, Tony Penterman: “Because the bridge is too good of shape, we qualify for less federal funding, meaning the municipality will be responsible for 80 percent of the project and state and federal grants would be 20 percent of the project.” [WeAreGreenbay] Fortunately for the city residents, 80% of the repair cost was put in the state budget in Jun 2019. [wbay] And that line item was approved. [Fox11-2019]

I have saved satellite images of each of the locks because the next time Google Maps updates the images, all of the locks should have non-stagnant water in them.

Satellite, Lock #1

Satellite, Lock #2 plus CN/C&NW Bridge
[Note the CN HyRail on the bridge. I've seen evidence that they also got a May 1, 2021 notification by the US Coast Guard.]

Satellite, Lock #3
[I included in the image the bypass channel along the north side. My theory is that it passes storm water when it rains on the channel.]

Satellite, Lock #4
[This storm water channel goes along the north side of the canal and continues downstream past Lock #5.]

Satellite, Lock #5
[Storm water seems to keep this lock and the upstream channel wet enough that it is growing a healthy crop of algae. (When I googled for "green scum stagnant water", it turned it into "green algae stagnant water," and I learned blue-green algae is toxic. "Dogs can develop poisoning when they drink from, or even simply swim in, contaminated water sources. If blue-green algae is ingested, it can cause severe neurologic or liver damage. " [aspca]]