Hwy. 60 bridge lights need replacing

The light poles on the Highway 60 bridge over the Milwaukee River in Grafton will need to be replaced after nearly two decades of weathering.

Public Works Director Amber Thomas told trustees during a Sept. 7 Village Board meeting that her department has determined that all eight of the poles will have to be replaced for an estimated total cost of $35,000.

“They all have different levels of deterioration or failure,” she said.

One light pole has already been removed by We Energies, which installed the poles about 20 years ago, after it began swaying in the wind.

While the remaining seven poles are sturdy and do not pose a safety hazard, Thomas said, they all exhibit varying levels of rust and degradation.

Village Administrator Jesse Thyes said the Public Works Department has been aware of the problem, as well as the need to paint the underside of the bridge, for some time now, but that there were hopes the Wisconsin Department of Transportation would assist in refurbishing the state-owned bridge.

“Quite frankly, we’ve been keeping our fingers crossed hoping the state would step in and help out, but I don’t think that will come to fruition,” he said.

Part of the reason the poles have degraded is that they were not designed to be mounted on a bridge, Thyes said. The poles were designed to be installed at ground level, with pads of concrete below them, not up in the air where they would be more affected by the wind.

“The light poles we actually have mounted on the bridge aren’t meant to be there,” he said.

Thomas said she would like to have the poles replaced before winter, but that  the public works staff has been busy with other projects and not been able to tackle the work.

She noted that the project was placed on the village’s capital improvement plan for the 2022 budget but was removed due to the steep cost.

While there may not be room in next year’s budget for the project, Thomas said, American Rescue Plan Act funds the village received may be used for other budgeted infrastructure projects next year, potentially freeing up funds for new light poles.

“It’s just a matter of trying to find funding in the budget to do all of them at one time,” she said.

 Village President Jim Brunnquell said the board will continue discussions on finding funds to complete the project before the 2023 budget cycle.