The bridge is back open
MILWAUKEE - The southern portion of the 16th Street Bridge in Milwaukee is back open to traffic now that the floor beam replacement is complete.
The emergency replacement required the bridge to close in December 2025.
December 2025 closure
The backstory:
The entire 16th Street Bridge was closed to traffic in early December 2025 after an in-depth inspection identified one floor beam showing signs of accelerated wear compared to surrounding bridge elements. Due to the level of wear, the floor beam needed immediate replacement.
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Since December 2025, the project team has designed, fabricated, and installed a new steel replacement beam for the 1929-built bridge. Repair work on the southern portion of the viaduct is now done.
Milwaukee 16th Street bridge update; floor beam replacement necessary
The Milwaukee Department of Public Works offered on Tuesday, April 21, an update on the closure of the 16th Street bridge.
Lane changes
What we know:
The southern portion of the viaduct has also been re-striped to one travel lane in each direction between Pierce and Canal. The new configuration right-sizes the number of travel lanes to better accommodate current traffic volumes.
With the work complete, the southern portion of 16th Street is now open to traffic and the project has returned to its original detour route.
Worker removing the traffic barriers
Northern portion still closed
What's next:
Planned rehabilitation work on the northern portion of the 16th Street Bridge is still underway. Crews are currently completing structural steel removals and repairs on the north and south trunnion towers.
Work on the full rehabilitation project is expected to continue into December 2026. Once the project is complete, 16th Street will be fully reopen to all traffic.
The Source: The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works sent FOX6 a news release.