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De Pere Common Council gets a look at South Bridge Connector

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DE PERE — Members of the De Pere Common Council got a peek at what the South Bridge Connector will look like and a chance to have a say on some of the details.

They approved aesthetic details for 2,000 feet of retaining wall between Lawrence Drive and Lost Dauphin Road, as well as for the bridge that will go over the Fox River.

The South Bridge Connector will connect I-41 with the east side of the Fox River.

The $180 million project is a route running from I-41 south of De Pere at Lawrence via a new I-41 interchange, along Southbridge Road (Generations Boulevard) to Red Maple Road and across the Fox River.

It will connect Red Maple Road on the west side of the river to Rockland Road in Ledgeview on the east. 

The project aims to reduce congestion and allow I-41 travelers to bypass the Claude Allouez Bridge.

The board chose cut stone-look details and metal railings for the retaining wall and bridge parapet.

 It’s looking into the possibility of making a portion of the retaining wall’s surface smooth to enable the potential for a mural to be painted there.

The bridge across the Fox will include a pedestrian sidewalk and six pedestrian bump outs for viewing, three on each side. 

The nine piers underneath the bridge will be rectangular colored-concrete columns with cut stone-look bases. 

The aesthetic options for the piers will add $450,000 to the cost of the bridge, split between the city and county. 

The options for the parapet will add an additional $450,000, which is not split with the county, and the six bump outs will add $60,000. 

Depending on the railing design the board chooses, it’s expected to add about $385,000 to the bridge cost and $550,000 to the retaining wall cost.

The cut-stone detail for the retaining wall will add about $200,000.

 Alderperson Dan Carpenter said people who live on or use the river often will be the ones who notice details like concrete color or surface materials.

He noted one resident who told a news source that it was important to ensure the bridge would be aesthetically pleasing.

“This is your one and only crack at it; if you want to change your mind on aestetics, you’re not going get that chance for 100 years,” Public Works Director Scott Thoresen told the board.

The board opted to not go with decorative pylons on the ends of the bridge, similar to the ones on the Claude Allouez Bridge, which would have added another $264,000 to the total.

The Brown County Highway Department, the towns of Lawrence and Ledgeview and the City of De Pere are partnering on the Connector project. 

Sanitary and storm sewer replacement

In other business, the board voted to award a contract for $662,927 to Alfson Excavating, LLC, to re-lay sanitary sewer and storm sewer near the De Pere Community Center north of Grant Street, where a section of the storm sewer is collapsing. 

Additionally, part of the existing box culvert will be re-laid and the sanitary sewer will be relocated out of that culvert. 

Alfson’s bid was the lowest.

Seven other companies submitted bids for the work, with quotes ranging from $727,777 to $899,983.

Municipal service center expansion

The board approved $566,444 to Short Elliot Hendrickson for design and construction engineering services for the expansion to the city’s municipal service center, which is located on Sixth Street.

The city has been under contract with SEH since 2021 for consulting services on the project.

The project will include expanding the current facilities for the city’s equipment and vehicles, as well as the office, plus ADA updates. 

The design is expected to be finished this year, with construction bidding in spring of 2026, and construction taking place in 2026 and 2027.

Parking garage progress

The board voted to award a contract for $297,000 to Miron Construction to provide Construction Manager at Risk services for the future downtown parking garage.

It’s to be built on the site of the former Shopko complex in the 200 block of Broadway and N. Wisconsin streets.

The Construction Manager at Risk serves to manage construction and control construction costs to ensure they don’t exceed the project’s guaranteed maximum price.

The CMaR is liable for any overages incurred.

The 220- to 240-stall parking structure is in the beginning of its design phase, with design completion slated for the end of June.

Requests for proposals for construction are expected to go out sometime in July, and construction management is slated for September.

According to Development Services Director Dan Lindstrom, the city solicited bids for CMaR services from 30 potentially interested parties and posted the requests to a number of organizational webpages but received just two responses.

The other was for $564,091.

Beer garden sponsor

Amerilux donated $5,500 to be the main sponsor of the 2025 Beer Gardens at Voyageur Park for the fifth year. This year’s beer garden concerts will be weekly for 11 weeks. 

The event began in 2019 with three beer garden concerts.

Overflow modification

The board voted to award a contract for $68,500 to Jossart Brothers to modify the Ninth Street ground storage reservoir overflow to ensure that it meets state code.

 
De Pere Common Council, South Bridge Connector, Laurence Drive, Lost Dauphin Road, Fox River, Pedestrian, I-41, Sanitary and storm sewer, municipal service center expansion, Parking garage progress, Beer garden sponsor, overflow modification, Reinsch

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