Fox Point Moves to Demolish Footbridge

After years of debate, the Village Board is seeking bids for the removal of the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, although a private effort will continue to raise funds for a new bridge.

Fox Point's Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge seems destined for demolition, based on the Village Board's actions Tuesday night. After three years of debating the future of the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, trustees asked Ayres Consulting to solicit bids for the removal of the bridge. The consultants have already estimated the bridge removal would cost $359,000, but the final bidding documents would also include the cost of limited landscaping of paths around the ravine. Once the bids are solicited, trustees would have to give final approval for the demolition to move forward. The abutments and piers needed to support a future bridge will remain in tact, should the board decide to eventually construct a new bridge. But for now, the structure …

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Absolutelyfabulous

7:05 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

In the interim one can easily set up a facebook page outlining your position, costs to taxpayers, village trustee emails/phone numbers to call as well as allowing for people interested to conduct discussions and so forth and so forth at no cost but a bit of time. I believe one can also set up petitions online as well. "Do you have an issue that you feel strongly about that you want your friends …   more ›

Fox Point Village Board Authorizes Planning for Replacement Footbridge

Ayers will design a brand new bridge in accordance with specifications from Village President Michael West, however, construction will not begin just yet.

Fox Point Village Board members voted Tuesday to have consultant Ayers Associates design a brand new bridge to replace the old Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge in accordance with specifications laid out by President Michael West. "Don’t forget, we are not committed to building a bridge," West said. Tuesday's decision does not tie the board to constructing anything that the consultant, Ayers Associates, creates. However, it does set the board on that path, as they utilize the allocated $37,773 contract with Ayers to plan a replacement bridge rather than repair or removal. Trustee Beverly Bell suggested modifying West's proposal to request Ayers also look into repair options, but other trustees voted it down. "If we take your motion, it is …

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Letter to the Editor

Fox Point’s $1.1 Million “Footbridge to Nowhere”

Fox Point resident, Larry Booth, gives his two-cents on the controversial Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge.

At the same time the Village of Fox Point is talking about cutting back on essential services and infrastructure, the Village Board has authorized spending up to $1.1 million of taxpayer money to rebuild an unused and unneeded FOOTBRIDGE. That $1.1 million price tag was 44 percent of the village’s ENTIRE 2012 capital budget. In other words, the board authorized spending nearly as much on a single footbridge as it has on all of the critical road, sanitary sewer and stormwater improvement projects in the village. That enormous price tag is not the only problem with this project: And the $1.1 million is not the only cost to taxpayers. The village is paying two engineering firms $142,000 to develop proposals for the footbridge. Taxpayers are …

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Fox Point Hiring Another Firm to Study Bridge

The Boldt Company will take another look at replacement options for the footbridge.

The Fox Point Village Board on Tuesday evening approved yet another study for the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, this time to be completed by The Boldt Company. Neighbors of the bridge, Jack and Cissy Bryson and Mary and James Connelly, asked the board what it needs to make a decision, questioning why a third firm needs to be brought in to study the bridge. Village President Michael West said it's a matter of the board obtaining enough information to make an informed decision. "As far as I'm concerned, this is new information," West said. The Boldt Company, a construction services firm out of Appleton, will meet with Ayers Associates to work with them on the previous studies that have been done on the bridge. According to the proposal from…

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