Overpass in Neenah yields a sinking feeling

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Sep 29, 2008 by Paul Snyder

Neenah residents shouldn't be the only people paying for repairs to an overpass finished less than a year ago, according to a state lawmaker.

"Why are local municipalities on the hook for maintenance and repair on a project done by the state?" said state Rep. Dean Kaufert, the Neenah Republican who called Thursday for a meeting with officials from Neenah and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "And how can something not even a year old be sinking that much?"

The sinking project is the Cecil Street overpass, a 2007 WisDOT project. Since completion of the overpass, the east and west approach ramps sank several inches below the bridge surface.

The uneven ramps created a bumpy ride, and, while city crews laid multiple asphalt patches to smooth the transition, city officials say the overpass needs a permanent fix.

The city complained to WisDOT this summer, and WisDOT officials concluded that none of the contractors involved in the $6.8 million project was at fault. The inconsistencies, the department said, were the result of the ramps settling.

"They said this was normal and expected," said Neenah Mayor George Scherck. "They checked their construction and engineering records and said this occurred many times throughout the state.

"But they make it sound like every bridge in the state should be like that, and I don't see it."

Scherck said he doesn't blame contractors, but he said if the problem was to be expected, WisDOT officials should have warned the city so the city could have budgeted for the maintenance costs. Those costs, he said, were not figured into the original project budget.

"The quick fix is a couple yards of blacktop here and there, which is relatively cheap," he said. "Our concern is down the line when it settles and we have to put the concrete down. That could be in the $18,000 to $20,000 range."

Scherck did not have estimates on how much money the city spent on asphalt patches.

The project originally was designed as a pedestrian bridge and was slated to be a city job, but when plans expanded to include cars, Scherck said WisDOT intervened and made it a state project.

And that's why state money should be used to fix the problem, Kaufert said.

"We spent a lot of money on it," he said, "but it's still a state building project."

WisDOT did not return calls by deadline Friday to comment.

Neither Kaufert nor Scherck have established a date for the meeting with WisDOT, but they agree the issue needs to be resolved.

"I'm not pointing fingers at builders or engineers," Kaufert said. "If this is normal, OK. But tell us why beforehand and figure out a way to not just make it Neenah's responsibility."