Dip in Green Bay bridge due to settling of pier

GREEN BAY (WITI) -- Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) officials say a dip in the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay apparently occurred because of settling from a bridge pier. That pier has apparently settled some two feet.

A motorist first reported the sag in the bridge just before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25th. The motorist indicated the sag was seen on the east side of the bridge across all lanes. By 5:30 p.m., authorities had shut down the bridge to all traffic.

The Leo Frigo bridge is closed between Atkinson Dr. and Webster Ave. in Green Bay. The public is also urged to stay away from all of the bridge's piers.

The Leo Frigo Bridge was built in 1980. It's 7,983 feet long and handles roughly 40,000 vehicles a day. The bridge was last inspected in August 2012.

WisDOT officials say the bridge will be closed for quite some time -- nobody knows how long that will be.

We've seen a similar problem in Milwaukee with the Hoan Bridge.

About 13 years ago, a 217-foot section of I-794 northbound began to buckle and crack, and two of the bridges three support beams failed, and the deck started sagging. Parts of the bridge had to be demolished.

It took engineers about two weeks to repair the bridge and get things back to normal.



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