Madison Street Bridge Replacement & Road Reconstruction

Waukesha, WI

Project Overview

The City of Waukesha had decided the three-sided concrete box culvert on Madison Street and over Pebble Creek should be replaced. Not only that, but the City also decided to widen that portion of Madison Street, adding pedestrian accommodations and curb and gutter. Our proven experience in engineering roadways and bridges, coupled with the value we offer, led the City to choose raSmith for this project.

Initially, the City desired that a new culvert replace the older structure on Madison. To determine the best design solution, our engineers performed a structure alternative evaluation and presented options, including culverts of varying sizes and one bridge structure, to the City. The ideal solution turned out to be the slab-span bridge structure because its construction would minimize disruption outside the right-of-way and because this option was low in cost—the City’s two main criteria for the project.

During design, the hydrologic and hydraulic analysis revealed a surprising finding: The new bridge’s opening had to be twice the size of the old culvert’s opening to avoid possible flooding during heavy rainfalls. In addition, the road’s profile was raised quite a bit and now provides a smooth ride to cars traveling down Madison Street.

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