WHAT HAPPENED WHEN :
TRAVERSING THE PAPER TRAIL
2016
Ayres was hired to coordinate removal of the historic South Smith Road Bridge and design a replacement . Ayres considered five alternatives :
1 . Keep the substandard old bridge and pay to maintain it for a few more year ’ s life .
2 . Rehabilitate the old bridge at considerable expense to extend its life .
The fourth alternative was selected .
In the autumn , architectural historians conducted a reconnaissancelevel survey of the project site , and UW-Milwaukee Cultural Resources Management completed an archaeological survey . No archaeological sites were identified , but the old bridge was determined to be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places .
2017 the National Register of Historic Places . The Section 106 form took three months to be reviewed and signed by all those involved . By August the South Smith Road Bridge was officially considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places .
2018
3 . Replace the old bridge at the same location , maintaining the substandard roadway approaches .
4 . Replace the old bridge on a slightly shifted alignment .
5 . Build a replacement bridge on a new location without disturbing the old bridge , resulting in increased project cost and adverse impacts on area property owners while not addressing the public safety concerns of the old bridge .
In February , the Determination of Eligibility form was completed , indicating that the 1910 bridge met the criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places . The Determination of Eligibility identifies historic properties within the area the project may potentially affect . The Section 106 Review Archaeological / Historical Information form was then filled out detailing the lack of archaeological sites found and recommending that the South Smith Road Bridge be considered eligible for
Once the old bridge was considered historic , the project team moved on to determine if impacts to the historic structure could be avoided . In the case of the South Smith Road Bridge , the public safety concerns were too great to leave the bridge as it stood , and
16 | TRENDS Ingenuity , Integrity , and Intelligence .