Complete closure of Broadway Bascule Bridge over Milwaukee River begins June 1st

MILWAUKEE -- The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) announced Friday, May 29th that the Broadway Bascule Bridge over the Milwaukee River will be completely closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic June 1st -12th.

River traffic will not be affected by this complete closure.Bridge work began on May 7, with one lane of traffic open in each direction over the bridge.

By completely closing the bridge to all traffic, the project contractor plans to paint a large portion of the south bridge span in a shorter period of time.

The entire bridge project is expected to be completed by September 2015, weather permitting.

The Broadway Bascule Bridge is the first moving bridge that boats and ships pass through on their way from Lake Michigan to the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers and the Downtown Milwaukee area. A bascule style bridge is one that opens at the center with two “leaves” counterweighted to assist in opening and closing the bridge.