County Engineer says it is likely Fort Atkinson bridge can be saved

The Winneshiek County Historical Preservation Commission is working on preserving the Fort Atkinson Bridge.  The 150th Street bridge is scheduled to be replaced 2014.

Winneshiek County Engineer Lee Bjerke on Monday said he thinks Fort Atkinson officials and historic preservation volunteers will be able to save the bridge.

That's because the federal government would pay for the cost of removing the bridge.  In the case where a bridge will be moved instead of demolished, the federal government will pay the moving expenses--up to its estimate of how much money it would have spent for deolition.

The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.  Fort Atkinson officials say they want to preserve the bridge by moving it to a nearby location.

"I think they'll get this done," Bjerke told Winneshiek County supervisors on Monday.