Under-construction bridge collapses in Oconomowoc

By and
Updated  April 25, 2026 8:32pm CDT
FOX6 News Milwaukee

Under-construction bridge collapse in Oconomowoc

The Brief

    • The under-construction Lapham Street bridge collapsed in Oconomowoc.
    • There was a beam failure while pouring concrete earlier in the week.
    • It's not clear how long the recent issues will delay the construction timeline.

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - An under-construction street bridge in Oconomowoc caved in on Saturday afternoon, sending concrete into the river below. It was the bridge's second structural issue in less than a week.

Lapham Street bridge

Local perspective:

Crews fished crumbled concrete out of the Oconomowoc River near Riverside Park, creating a spectacle for onlookers and a setback for construction workers on Lapham Street.

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"It sucks that it happened," said Jakob Pflughoefd, who lives nearby.

Oconomowoc Mayor Matt Rosek said no one was injured, and contractors came out immediately to clean it up. His team is looking for an answer to what happened.

"From the city's perspective, we asked them to get out here within about five or 10 minutes after the collapse," he said.

Beam failure

The backstory:

On Monday, the City of Oconomowoc said a beam failed during the concrete pour for the new slab span bridge. No injuries were reported during that incident.

"There was falsework underneath that bridge that had failed on Monday, which had led to some of the concrete spill," said Rosek.

The mayor said workers waited for the concrete to dry and started to cut it out on Wednesday. Crews were still working to remove concrete, the mayor added, when the bridge suddenly collapsed on Saturday.

Bridge reconstruction

Big picture view:

Rosek said the bridge was under construction to widen it from one lane to two lanes, part of a Wisconsin Department of Transportation bridge replacement project.

"Personally, I wish we never had to replace the bridge. It seems a little bit excessive," said Christopher Kurtz, who has lived in the area for 11 years.

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Kurtz said he saw the failure on Monday and saw Saturday's collapse on social media. He and others are chalking Saturday's issue up to the problems that come with construction.

"We're all humans, right. Mistakes happen," said Rosek.

What's next:

The project was scheduled to be completed in September. Rosek said he does not know how long the recent issues will delay the timeline, but the city will meet with WisDOT to discuss things on Monday.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include quotes and new information.

The Source: FOX6 News gathered information from Oconomowoc's mayor, the City of Oconomowoc and interviews at the scene. 

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