There is a stretch in Wisconsin where three interstates — 39, 90, and 94 — converge and travel as one. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), along with general contractor Kraemer North America (Kraemer NA), are in the midst of a bridge replacement project along this stretch of road in south-central Wisconsin. The bridges carry all three interstates.
Two adjacent bridges span the Wisconsin River, carrying eastbound and westbound traffic between Madison and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The existing bridges were constructed in 1961.
The multi-span bridges are 55.5 feet wide and carry three lanes of traffic. Due to the age and wear and tear, the ride quality has diminished and lanes must be occasionally closed to maintain the bridge.
“We were looking at what we could do to extend the service life of the bridges,” WisDOT Project Manager Steve Porter said. “We ultimately determined that replacing the bridges was the best option.”
Nearly a quarter of the 60,000 average daily vehicles passing through the corridor are trucks. The traffic on the bridge increases dramatically — up to 75 percent during the summer months due to tourist traffic.
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The new bridges will be 1,760 feet long, making them slightly longer than the existing bridges. They will also be wider at 80 feet. However, the bridges will remain three lanes when the project opens.
Porter noted that WisDOT has a separate future project to widen the interstate to four lanes. When that occurs, the bridge will be restriped to accommodate a fourth lane.
The team is constructing the first new structures about 10 feet east of the current structure. The second bridge will replace the original bridges, with the eastbound bridge located where the existing eastbound and westbound bridges are today. Therefore, the highway needs to be realigned to connect to the bridges. The shift impacts two county overpasses, so they will be demolished, rebuilt, and lengthened.
Finally, the project includes the team constructing several retaining walls.
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Traffic is currently using the existing bridges while the new westbound bridge is being constructed. While the new eastbound bridge is under construction, traffic will be shifted to the new westbound bridge. According to Porter, demolishing both bridges and detouring traffic to another location would have been an issue.
“The closest crossing is relatively nearby in terms of mileage,” Porter said, “but the alternate route traverses downtown Portage. It would have been poor traffic flow and a hassle for drivers and locals alike.”
This alternate route is one lane in each direction, two lanes total. To handle six lanes of interstate traffic, it would have caused major congestion and safety concerns.
Despite today’s advanced tools and preconstruction planning, unexpected events still occur in construction.
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The team working on the I-39/90/94 bridges has experienced a couple of unexpected conditions that have had a major impact on the project. The surprising geological and hydrogeological conditions have forced the team to redesign some of the foundations for the westbound bridge. This change was needed because of the riverbed’s highly variable rock profiles.
“We encountered issues during the construction of the drilled shaft foundations,” Porter said. “We were expecting to land on rock that was strong enough rock to support the bridge foundation, but we couldn’t achieve it with the original design.”
This issue meant the team had to redesign the foundations at multiple pier locations.
“We went down 120 feet and still didn’t achieve the design capacity,” Porter said. “At some pier locations, we supplemented the drilled shafts with driven piles within the footing to finally achieve capacity.”
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Then, there were the hydrogeological conditions. The underground artesian pressure around the tips of the drilled shafts was challenging.
“We had issues getting stability for the drilled shafts,” Porter said. "After further analysis, we pivoted to an open-ended pipe pile concept for some of our foundations.”
At these pier locations, the team originally planned on installing six drill shafts. Instead, they installed 27 open-ended piles with an internal reinforced section to meet the structural design needs of the new westbound structure. This change was driven by a combination of less than desirable rock bearing, low friction soils, and the artesian conditions.
Another challenge the team faced was dealing with the site constraints. On one side of the construction is the existing bridges. On the other side, there is a high-voltage power line. The power line is owned by American Transmission Company, a utility company based in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states.
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Porter noted that getting equipment to the construction site and erecting it meant working around the high-voltage power line. De-energizing the power lines would have been difficult and a major inconvenience for those who rely on the power.
“Getting the necessary equipment to the site and orienting it a safe enough distance from the power lines without de-energizing the overhead lines was a big win for the project,” Porter said.
Kraemer NA’s in-house construction engineering team strategically designed the temporary causeway to minimize conflicts with the power lines. In some instances, crane booms have been shortened, or special low-overhead equipment has been deployed to maintain safe clearance.
Some of the equipment the team utilized was expected and planned for. That includes up to eight cranes on site at one time.
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The need for other equipment was unexpected due to the geotechnical challenges. Kraemer NA had to bring in additional subcontractors and their equipment, using large drill rigs to clean out the open-ended pipe piles.
Kraemer NA is headquartered in Plain, Wisconsin, just 45 minutes from the project site. Porter said he is impressed by the contractor.
“They’re a full-service contractor and have a great reputation for safety and overall excellence,” Porter said. “We’ve [WisDOT] worked with them on other complex projects, and we’re pleased with the job they’ve done thus far on this project.”
This job has pushed the team, but Kraemer NA has come through.
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“They’ve been excellent to work with and done a good job through all the issues and delays,” Porter said. “They’ve been very upfront with suggestions. We’ve had multiple collaboration meetings where we all put our heads together to get the bridge project back on track.”
Construction on the project began in spring 2024. WisDOT originally anticipated that the project would be completed in November 2027. As of this writing, the team aims to complete the project in 2028 and is optimistic they can do so then.
However, Porter noted that there are many factors that could impact the ultimate completion date, including weather and the risk of volatile river levels.
The overall budget for the project — design, construction, real estate, etc. — was $160 million. The bulk of the costs, $135 million, was for construction.
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The project will be over budget due to unanticipated geological and hydrogeological conditions and the changes required to address them.
“It’s too early to tell how much extra budget we’ll need to complete the project due to the design changes,” Porter said.
Half of the $160 million budget came from an $80 million INFRA grant. The remainder of the funding is being provided by the federal government and state government via the standard 80/20 split.
When the I-39/90/94 bridges project is completed, motorists will experience a safe, reliable crossing. In time, the new bridges will include a fourth lane, which will be especially beneficial during the summer months, when traffic swells with tourists.
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The I-39/90/94 Wisconsin River bridges project demonstrates what collaboration can achieve while facing challenges. Close and continued coordination between WisDOT and Kraemer NA ensured that obstacles were addressed, solutions were implemented, and progress continues. These bridges are a critical part of the interstate corridor, and the new bridges will be a modern, reliable crossing that not only meets the needs of today but will serve Wisconsin and the upper Midwest for decades to come.
- Owner: Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT)
- General Contractor: Kraemer North America, Plain, Wisconsin
- Project Designer: RD Associates LLC (a joint venture between raSmith of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and DAAR Engineering of Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- Bridge Designer: WisDOT Bureau of Structures
- Other Contractors: HNTB, Madison, Wisconsin (construction engineering and inspection)
