4th Street Bridge (Racine, Wisconsin)
Coordinates: 42°43′45″N 87°47′07″W / 42.72918°N 87.78529°W
4th Street Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Carries | 4th Street |
| Crosses | Root River |
| Locale | Racine, Wisconsin |
| History | |
| Opened | 1878 |
| Closed | January 18, 1936 (vehicles) September 14, 1961 (pedestrians) |
The 4th Street Bridge was a swing bridge 
in Racine, Wisconsin that carried 4th Street over the Root River from 1878 to 1961.
History
Condemnation and demolition
On January 18, 1936, the bridge was closed to vehicles by order of Mayor William Swoboda.[1] At the time, the pedestrian sidewalk was being repaired, so it was in good enough condition that it was kept open. Later that year, the city pushed for funding from the Public Works Administration to replace the bridge with a new bascule bridge .[2]
In July 1961, Mayor Jack H. Humble urged the city council to have the bridge repaired or demolished. By that time, the Racine Journal Times reported, the swing mechanism was inoperable, the frame was rusted, and the wooden floor was rotted through in some places, creating holes that were patched with old traffic signs.[3] On September 11, 1961, while the issue was being considered, Peter F. Lee dislocated his shoulder when his foot broke through a rotten plank on the bridge, and he later sued the city for the costs of his treatment.[4][5] Humble ordered the bridge closed to pedestrians on September 14, after the City Harbor Commission described it as unsafe and noted that the city was liable for injuries sustained on the bridge.[6]
The disused bridge was ultimately demolished two years later.[7][8] Luedtke Engineering Company of Frankfort, Michigan handled the demolition during late July and early August 1963.[9][10][11] On August 5, Luedtke Engineering employee Ronald Getchell was hospitalized after he fell from a dredge while working on demolishing the bridge.[12] The Racine city council originally planned to replace the demolished bridge with a smaller pedestrian bridge to be built in 1964,[9] but decided not to replace the bridge at all in an October 1963 budget meeting.[13]
In 2012, the Racine city council approved "RootWorks: Root River Corridor Redevelopment Plan", which called for a new pedestrian bridge to be built at 4th Street, connecting Downtown to the Case New Holland campus and a new development called "River Loop North". Vandewalle & Associates unveiled plans for such a bridge in 2015.[14]
References
- ↑ "Order Closes 4th St. Bridge; Weight of Ice and Snow Feared; Move for New Span Likely", Racine Journal Times, January 18, 1936, front page.
- ↑ "To Fix Walks on Weak Span; City Moves to Replace Fourth Street Bridge", Racine Journal Times, August 21, 1936, page four.
- ↑ "Repair or Tear Down 4th St. Bridge–Mayor", Racine Journal Times, July 31, 1961, page 4A.
- ↑ "Sues City for Injury on 4th St. Bridge", Racine Journal Times, September 27, 1961, page 5.
- ↑ Claims Committee, Item 24, Common Council Official Proceedings, October 3, 1961, Racine Journal Times, October 6, 1961, page 24.
- ↑ "Mayor Orders 4th St. Bridge Barricaded", Racine Journal Times, September 14, 1961, front page and page 2.
- ↑ Herman, Bob. "4th St. Bridge Fate Argued for 41 Years", Racine Journal Times, July 14, 1963, front page and page 6A.
- ↑ "End of a Life Span", Racine Journal Times, December 29, 1963, page 1B.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "4th St. Bridge to Be Removed", Racine Journal Times, July 17, 1963, front page.
- ↑ "Goodby, Bridge", Racine Journal Times, July 26, 1963, front page.
- ↑ "The New Look", Racine Journal Times, August 8, 1963, page 6A.
- ↑ "Happenings in the City", Racine Journal Times, August 5, 1963, page 4A.
- ↑ "Aldermen Endorse Rambler Bus, Golf Course; Reject Noise Ban", Racine Journal Times, October 8, 1963, page 5A.
- ↑ Spoto, Cara. "RootWorks plan envisions pedestrian bridge at Fourth and Wisconsin", Racine Journal Times, July 18, 2015.
External links
- Fourth Street Bridge at bridgehunter.com