Historic Bridges

A brief history of Wisconsin's bridges

Wisconsin's bridge history began with the construction of wood and stone bridges and slowly evolved from metal truss design to our current concrete and steel structures. As transportation needs changed and safety standards improved, many of these historic bridges have been removed from service.

Those remaining historic structures fall into three categories — Stone-and-Concrete-Arch, Metal Truss and Movable.

Relocation of historic bridges

During some bridge replacement projects, the project team may list the bridge for relocation if:

  • it has been identified as a "historic" structure, and
  • the project uses federal funding and is completed or sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).

Below are bridges that are available for relocation or will be soon. If you are interested in rescuing a bridge from demolition, click the links and contact the WisDOT Cultural Resources Team. And if you would like to receive updates whenever bridges are added to the website or go up for ownership transfer, fill out this form.

Back to top button