By Kellen Olshefski
SLN Staff
An update provided to the Walworth County Public Works Committee on Feb. 15 showed the state of Peters Road bridge in Sharon won’t be changing anytime soon.
Director of Central Services Eric Nitschke, said as the Highway Commissioner of Walworth County said he drafted a letter in support of Rep. Amy Loudenbeck’s proposal to have state funding through the Wisconsin River Trail Transit System to cover the replacement of the bridge.
Nitschke said the topic was brought before the Wisconsin Transportation Committee in January by Loudenbeck, at which time discussion centered around the idea there are many other bridges in similar disrepair statewide.
Nitschke said representatives sitting on the committee also wanted to know if funding was made available for the Peters Road bridge, would it be available for bridges in their own districts as well.
Nitschke said there was no decision made at the meeting, though it seems like it’s a bit of an “uphill battle” for Loudenbeck to obtain the needed funding for the bridge project.
Nitschke said with the Department of Transportation disagreeing with the proposal, it doesn’t bode well with a bill that’s in committee.
However, while things might look bleak for the bridge at this time, Nitschke said there are some positives to take out of the whole situation at hand.
The following week, Nitschke said the topic was brought before the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission on Feb. 5, at which time the county was asked to return with a bit more information on the bridge.
“I think ultimately what’s come out of this is we’ve gotten some good verbal discussion with both the railroad and with the department of transportation on how to move forward with the Peters Road bridge,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a flurry at the beginning of this month regarding this project.”
Nitschke said it’s a positive that the county is in talks with the railroad, trying to move forward with some sort of plan. He also noted the DOT has acknowledged something does need to be done with the bridge.
“So, we’re not going to just let this sit,” he said. “We’re going to continue to see what options are available to fix or replace the bridge.”
