Work on U.S. Highway 51 southbound, Pine River Bridge slated for fall wrap-up

By Jalen Maki

Tomahawk Leader Editor

LINCOLN COUNTY – Work on Lincoln County’s infrastructure is well underway, with two major projects slated to last the entire summer and into fall.

Crews began work to mill and replace 6.25 inches of asphalt pavement on U.S. Highway 51 southbound from U.S. Highway 8 to County Road S in May. The $6.2 million project will see the entire 8.6-mile stretch of highway completely repaved.

Additional work will include reconstructing 4.5 miles of U.S. Highway 51 southbound, a bridge deck overlay on the Wisconsin River Bridge, four culvert pipe replacements, concrete pavement replacement, curb and gutter, and pavement markings, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).

The project is scheduled to be completed on Oct. 15.

For more information on the Highway 51 project, visit www.projects.511wi.gov/us51lincoln/.

The Pine River Bridge about five miles east of Merrill on State Highway 64 is in the process of being completely replaced.

The Pine River Bridge on State Highway 64 east of Merrill is scheduled to be replaced by November. The original bridge was built in 1937.

The nearly $1.4 million project began in early June. Crews will remove the current deteriorating steel bridge that was built in 1937 and replace it with a new bridge.  New guard rail, asphalt and concrete pavement approaches will also be constructed for the bridge, WisDOT said.

Work is slated to wrap up in November.

For more information on the Pine River Bridge project, visit www.projects.511wi.gov/wis64-merrill-antigo/full-project-overview/.