GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – After a viral social media post made its way around Green Bay, many drivers voiced concern to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) that the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge may be unsafe.
Officials with WisDOT say that’s not the case.
“One is that the joint is open because we had an open joint, so the bridge can contract and expand. The other picture is a continuous over top. So there’s no joint in there. So that’s why there’s a little difference,” said Jason Lahm, WisDOT Structure Supervisor. “You see a little concrete in one. The other one is open because one has to move back and forth.”
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Routine maintenance is done on the bridge every two years, with the most recent check being in 2024.
That’s when they go and check things like the expansion joints to make sure everything is up to code.
“We’re looking at tension in the moment. We’re looking at compression, all these different parts that make a bridge work the way it is,” said Lahm. “So we have to look at specific points in the bridge. We’re looking at everything obviously, two by three at certain points that are more apt to potentially have problems.”
Many remember what happened with the bridge back in September of 2013, when the bridge buckled, causing it to drop two feet, and be closed for over three months.
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Routine maintenance makes sure that an event like this never happens again.
For now, Wisconsin’s weather is what plays a part in the small wear and tear on the bridge.
“When you have salt and or water going down, it does get into that first layer of concrete, and it does come off. And that’s not a structural problem at all. It looks scarier than it really is, but it’s structurally sound,” said Lahm. “We get hands-on, we look right at it.”
The Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge will undergo a rehab project in 2029/2030 to improve the expansion joints and re-deck the bridge.
