Anyone wishing to walk or bicycle from the north waterfront of the Sheboygan River to the South Pier has to take a nearly 1-mile course across the 8th Street Bridge. On foot, it’s a 13-minute stroll. But that’s about to change.
Senator Tammy Baldwin on Wednesday announced that Sheboygan is being given over $5.3 million ($5,341,931) to construct a swing-bridge across the river, connecting the two sides from the Virginia Avenue terminus on the north to the South Pier Boardwalk, reducing the crossing to under a minute.
The money is part of a larger one-and-a-half billion dollar U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE Grant program that Baldwin supported, with over $31 million coming to four Wisconsin communities including Sheboygan.
The project is described as a shared-use swing bridge for pedestrian, bike and other non-motorized travel which will provide a safe pathway across the river, reduce emissions, and improve at-risk infrastructure by considering improvements to the flood plain in the project area.
No construction schedule has yet been announced, but eventually it is expected to increase access to work centers, recreational activities, health care and other services to the community, including – according to the release – “those who are underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged.”
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