GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — As the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge closes for the rest of the month, some officials say there could be an even longer closure in the future if another major repair isn't made.
The Green Bay Public Works Department announced the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge will be closed through the end of January. Crews will work on the span locks during that time.
"We understand that the city has to do what they have to do to keep everything running smoothly and it's just necessary to have construction sometimes in certain areas," said Melissa Martens, an owner of Copper State Brewing Company.
The family-owned brewery, coffee shop, and restaurant is located on Dousman Street, just after crossing the bridge. People can also enter their parking off N. Broadway Street.
"It's hard to entirely guess what the impact will be over the next month," Martens said. "It's typically our slightly slower time of the year anyways as people are back to their routines."
The current bridge repairs are unrelated to previous funding requests for another major fix: a complete replacement to the hydraulic system, which allows the bridge to be lifted and lowered.
The bridge has two hydraulic pumps, but only one is in proper working order.
"What we have now is a situation where we've not operated one of the pumps for several years," said Steven Grenier, Green Bay public works director. "The bridge operates perfectly fine with one. It's if something happens to that one, I don't have a backup."
If the pump currently in use fails, officials will be forced to lift the bridge up and keep it there until replacement parts are purchased. Grenier said that could take several months.
"It is a situation that could never happen, or it could happen the very next time that we hit the button," Grenier said. "You really don't know."
The closure of the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge this month doesn’t relate to $2 mil of funding previously requested by the GB Public Works Dpt. for another major repair…we’ll break that down on @NBC26 at 5. pic.twitter.com/k8WERogu5j
— Kelsey Dickeson (@KelseyDickeson) January 4, 2022
Replacing the hydraulic system would cost about $2 million, an amount Grenier has been requesting from the city for several years without success.
State Rep. Kristina Shelton, (D) Green Bay, proposed a bill in 2021 that would provide $1.2 million from Wisconsin’s general revenue fund to the DOT to address the technical challenges to the hydraulic system. The bill hasn't been supported by Republican lawmakers.
"The state of Wisconsin right now is sitting on an additional $2.6 billion in our state's coffers, so we have funding for these types of immediate needs and repairs," Shelton said. "Seems pretty common sense to me to fix things that are likely to break."
Shelton said it would've been great to replace the hydraulic system while the bridge is already undergoing repairs through January, but said she plans to keep talking about this "bread and butter issue" with her colleagues, the governor, and the Green Bay mayor.
"Quite frankly, I don't care where the money comes from," Shelton said. "At the end of the day, the bridge is going to need to be fixed."
Grenier said the public works department is working with another consultant to evaluate different ways of making the necessary repairs. He said using slightly different parts or replacing the system in phases could be potential options.
About 15,400 vehicles cross over the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge every day, according to the latest data from the Department of Transportation.
