LONE ROCK — The calls will still come for this village's fire and ambulance crews to respond to wrecks, injuries and deaths.
A motorist heads toward the rock wall at the intersection of highways 130 and 133 near Lone Rock. Construction on this three-span overhead truss bridge over the main channel of the Wisconsin River began in 1941 and was completed in 1943.
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A nearly $37 million bridge and road project is creating a new pathway over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock. The new spans are scheduled to open in October and will eliminate a deadly T intersection at highways 130 and 133 in Iowa County.
Fluctuating water levels on the Wisconsin River have at times hampered work on the more than two-year project to construct two bridges, and a 1,000-foot stretch of road on an island near Lone Rock. Work was halted in April 2023 and for two weeks in late June and early July. The bridges and roadway are set to open in October.
Greg Brecka of the state Department of Transportation drives over the existing south bridge over the Wisconsin River on Highway 130Â near Lone Rock. The new bridges will be wider and include 6-foot-wide shoulders.
Workers lay concrete on the deck of the new north bridge on Highway 130 near Lone Rock.
Tributes to motorists killed in collisions with a bluff at the T intersection of highways 130 and 133 are spray-painted onto the bluff's face. Under the new alignment, southbound traffic on Highway 130 will still encounter a T intersection but instead of a bluff there will be a guardrail and a wooded gully.
Steve Morgenson, a 30-year veteran of the Lone Rock Fire District, is hoping the new alignment of bridges over the nearby Wisconsin River will mean fewer calls. Morgenson has responded numerous times to crashes into a rock bluff at the T intersection of highways 130 and 133.
Photos: The construction of bridges over the Wisconsin River at Lone Rock
Fluctuating water levels on the Wisconsin River have at times hampered work on the more than two-year project to construct two bridges, and a 1,000-foot stretch of road on an island near Lone Rock. Work was halted in April 2023 and for two weeks in late June and early July. The bridges and roadway are set to open in October.
Brent Freeman of Kraemer North America walks on a portion of a more than 80-year-old bridge as a new span rises to the west.
Work progresses on the new State Highway 130 bridge over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock, Wis. Thursday, July 8, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Vehicles traverse the existing State Highway 130 bridge over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock, Wis. Thursday, July 8, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Work progresses on the new State Highway 130 bridge over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock, Wis. Thursday, July 8, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
A motorist heads toward the rock wall at the intersection of highways 130 and 133 near Lone Rock. Construction on this three-span overhead truss bridge over the main channel of the Wisconsin River began in 1941 and was completed in 1943.
Workers lay concrete on the deck of the new north bridge on Highway 130 near Lone Rock.
Steve Morgenson, a 30-year veteran of the Lone Rock Fire District, is hoping the new alignment of bridges over the nearby Wisconsin River will mean fewer calls. Morgenson has responded numerous times to crashes into a rock bluff at the T intersection of highways 130 and 133.
Work progresses on the new State Highway 130 bridge over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock, Wis. Thursday, July 8, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Work progresses on the new State Highway 130 bridge over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock, Wis. Thursday, July 8, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Two new bridges over the Wisconsin River and a new stretch of roadway on an island on Highway 130 near Lone Rock are scheduled to open in October. The $37 million project by the state Department of Transportation replaces three bridges constructed in the 1930s and 1940s.Â
Tributes to motorists killed in collisions with a bluff at the T intersection of highways 130 and 133 are spray-painted onto the bluff's face. Under the new alignment, southbound traffic on Highway 130 will still encounter a T intersection but instead of a bluff there will be a guardrail and a wooded gully.
Greg Brecka of the state Department of Transportation drives over the existing south bridge over the Wisconsin River on Highway 130Â near Lone Rock. The new bridges will be wider and include 6-foot-wide shoulders.
The old and new designs of bridges are seen here crossing the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock. A new set of bridges is slated to open in October with the old bridges being removed by next summer.
The south bridge crossing the main channel of the Wisconsin River is seen here in early July just prior to its concrete deck being poured.
A nearly $37 million bridge and road project is creating a new pathway over the Wisconsin River near Lone Rock. The new spans are scheduled to open in October and will eliminate a deadly T intersection at highways 130 and 133 in Iowa County.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
