Keep The Hoan Bridge or Tear it Down? (Milwaukee, Marquette: condos, homes)

[Milwaukee City]

So Frank Busalacchi, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the state of Wisconsin want to tear down the Hoan Bridge. Do you favor tearing down the Hoan Bridge why or why not?

[Milwaukee City]

Here is my take, Repaving the bridge will be a ton cheaper than rebuilding a new bridge. Now that the Lake Parkway is finally finished the Hoan makes a ton of sense unlike the idea of putting a stop light in at Oklahoma.Ave. A lot of cars and trucks use this route and it eases freeway congestion on 94/43 Northbound. If they thin tearing down the freeway will spur all this development where the bridge once stood they are nuts! You will have to pay to relocate and clean up all the property's down their. However who's idea it was to put 3 crap plants on the lake close to downtown must be a moron.

If they want to develop the land underneath the freeway who say's they have to tear down the bridge in the first place. If they want to build shops and homes or condos they can still do it while the Hoan stands after north of the Milwaukee River and just west of the freeway you have a ton of new development in the Third Ward.

Why are liberals in this community so obsessed with tearing down all of our freeways and opposed to expanding them or building new ones. I don't think people realize that Milwaukee back in the socialist days scrapped the plans to more than half of the planned freeways. Who knows we might have had the population growth to support more cultural events and attractions and restaurants and jobs. We could probably could have had the same population as the Twin Cities since they built a freeway anywhere possible realizing the land near freeways sell for a high premium and attract people and business to the area.

What a shame!

[Pete.]

I say tear it down. It's basically a money pit. I also don't think that a freeway belongs on the lakefront. Making it a boulevard would still allow access to the south side, while also allowing the area to become a real neighborhood with development.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Rogee

while also allowing the area to become a real neighborhood with development.

Just like the Park East

The Hoan Bridge a money pit? now tear the Hoan down and then build a new bridge that will have to open and close nearly non-stop with all the boat traffic and then you can pay for all those business to relocate then you have to pay to clean up the sites then you will have to make it a tif district to bring businesses in. I think all of this will cost more than a 80million.

Plus the 220 million dollar price tag to resurface the Hoan Bridge is way over inflated. It won't cost 1/8 of the price it cost to rebuild the whole Marquette interchange.

[Pete.]

I still think the area should be given a chance to develop. Park East may be empty now, but it eventually will fill in. With a freeway there, it didn't even have that chance. I tend to think more long-term.

How do you know that 220 million is inflated?

[just1paul]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Here is my take, Repaving the bridge will be a ton cheaper than rebuilding a new bridge. Now that the Lake Parkway is finally finished the Hoan makes a ton of sense unlike the idea of putting a stop light in at Oklahoma.Ave.
If they want to develop the land underneath the freeway who say's they have to tear down the bridge in the first place. If they want to build shops and homes or condos they can still do it while the Hoan stands after north of the Milwaukee River and just west of the freeway you have a ton of new development in the Third Ward.

I totally agree with these points that you make.

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

I don't think people realize that Milwaukee back in the socialist days scrapped the plans to more than half of the planned freeways.

Actually the freeway plans were scrapped by a voter referendum in the early 1970s and the freeways had their beginnings during the Tenure of Frank Zeidler, a Socialist.

Two good reads on the freeway take are this website:
Milwaukee's Freeway Past

and the book by Richard W. Cutler: Greater Milwaukee's Growing Pains, 1950-2000: An Insiders View.


I am very happy though, that the freeways were not completed as planned. It would be a concrete ring around downtown and they did cut holes in the Neighborhoods.

[karfar]

Yeah, well I'm a liberal that lives in Bayview & I would shoot myself on a regular basis if I had to take KK everyday. That road sucks, why does everyone on the south side drive like idiots?

[Jesse276]

Hoan Bridge: Let’s get the facts - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:


Sometimes a news story gets ahead of the facts, as is the case with the recent speculation and misinformation surrounding the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce’s position on the Hoan Bridge. So, let’s set the record straight.

MMAC is not advocating that the Hoan Bridge be torn down. This bridge is a critical corridor connecting downtown to businesses and members on Milwaukee’s south side and beyond. However, the bridge is in need of what appears to be significant repairs and resurfacing, if it is to serve out its useful life over the next 30 years. A decision on the extent of that work and a timeline is needed in the near future because the rehab is set to begin in 2012.

Now is the time to get the facts and the best cost estimates for all the options out on the table so that sound decisions can be made. Any alternative to redecking the Hoan Bridge must take into careful consideration its impact on Summerfest, the Port of Milwaukee, the community and our regional economic development.

MMAC supports an in-depth study of all the various options for the future of this corridor, including replacement of the bridge as is, replacement in a different form, or relocation of this transportation corridor to a different footprint. A detailed analysis of the various options, their costs and benefits, and the views of the impacted communities will be critical to ensuring the best decision can be made.

[Allan Trafton]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Here is my take, Repaving the bridge will be a ton cheaper than rebuilding a new bridge. Now that the Lake Parkway is finally finished the Hoan makes a ton of sense unlike the idea of putting a stop light in at Oklahoma.Ave. A lot of cars and trucks use this route and it eases freeway congestion on 94/43 Northbound. If they thin tearing down the freeway will spur all this development where the bridge once stood they are nuts! You will have to pay to relocate and clean up all the property's down their. However who's idea it was to put 3 crap plants on the lake close to downtown must be a moron.

If they want to develop the land underneath the freeway who say's they have to tear down the bridge in the first place. If they want to build shops and homes or condos they can still do it while the Hoan stands after north of the Milwaukee River and just west of the freeway you have a ton of new development in the Third Ward.

Why are liberals in this community so obsessed with tearing down all of our freeways and opposed to expanding them or building new ones. I don't think people realize that Milwaukee back in the socialist days scrapped the plans to more than half of the planned freeways. Who knows we might have had the population growth to support more cultural events and attractions and restaurants and jobs. We could probably could have had the same population as the Twin Cities since they built a freeway anywhere possible realizing the land near freeways sell for a high premium and attract people and business to the area.

What a shame!

I'm not with you on this one. Do you believe running a freeway through the lower east and up through the lake front would have been a good idea? I don't. I think it would have sucked. Two blocks north and south of the park east would have become slums and the lower east side would have died. Also, tearing down the Park East freeway stub will pay off down the road. It has opened up much land for redevelopment and now we have a beautiful boulevard. Give it time. It will be very nice once the economy gets better and development takes off. Milwaukee has plenty of freeways and they work fine. There is no need to turn us into Detriot where they have freeways crisscrossing everywhere. I guess it didn't work out for them.
The Hoan Bridge is really a joke. A little over 30 years old and it's falling apart. It should have been built to last from the start and we shouldn't even be having this discussion.

[Milwaukee City]

Do you believe running a freeway through the lower east and up through the lake front would have been a good idea?

Not at all.

I am for the Park East development and glad they torn it down however I wish they would've lined up development before tearing it down.

now we have a beautiful boulevard.

next to a desert! they could have at least planted grass.