Bridge Out! Bridge Construction on County Roads BB & H

County Road H Bridge County Road BB Bridge

(Photos courtesy of Wendy Vorpahl)

If County Rd BB and/or County Rd H are used by you on a regular basis, you may have noticed “Bridge Out” signs on your route. I have spoken with Pat Scanlan-the head of Oconto County’s Highway Department- to get a little more information about the two projects. The Bridge at County BB was built in 1973, and there will simply be a new deck going on that bridge. Until the project’s planned completion in mid-May, motorists will have to make their way around by following 22 north to 32 south-as shown below.

The Bridge at County H in Hintz has a stronger history to it: the bridge was built in 1938. It is the last bridge in Oconto County that was built under the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. (The program was renamed the Works Project Administration in 1939.) Then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began the program May 6, 1935 as a way to put people to work during the Great Depression. Many projects completed through the program began at the local level with the city and county governments assessing their needs and unemployment numbers. Proposals were sent to a WPA state office before being forwarded to headquarters in Washington D.C. The proposal would then need to reach its final step with the President for final approval. Because of World War II and absorption of the ranks of the unemployed into war production and the military, the WPA was gradually shut down. Official termination of the program came on June 30, 1943. (Information on WPA was found at livingnewdeal.org)

Because of the age of the County H bridge-everything on the bridge is being redone. That bridge also has a projected completion date of May, 2020. The county has a detour set up with motorists taking County R north to Hwy 32 in Suring- then taking County V south when you reach the south end of Suring.

If you are not a semi-driver, I can tell you (as a local) that another possible route during the construction at Hintz would be the one in the blue arrows below. The route is County R to County Vv to V to H.

According to Pat Scanlan, these two bridges are being done earlier in the year so they are completed before area farmers would need to use the routes in their daily work. Anyone who has questions on these projects or any other ones in Oconto County are encouraged to call the Highway Department at 920-834-6885.