Of course it will be; if it takes years to install an adequate traffic signal near campus, one could not expect quick headway on the North Street Bridge. They’ll resume in the spring.
The delay itself is not the biggest problem here. Note, instead, how odd is the delay when considered after reading the Walker Administration’s prior justification for spending hundreds of thousands on the bridge (after the city had to borrow yet hundreds of thousands more):
North Street is a vital thoroughfare for the City of Whitewater,” said Governor Walker. “Our assistance in this project is an important investment in the infrastructure, economic development and safety of the community and its residents.”
The grant will help finance a $1.5 million project to replace two bridges on North Street, a major roadway in the community. Pedestrian sidewalks will be constructed on both sides of each bridge. In addition, the plan involves installation of storm and sanitary sewer lines as well as water mains in the project area. Construction and installation is expected to be completed by the end of November.
Gov. Walker and his Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation describe this project in the grandest terms; non-residents could be forgiven for thinking he was describing our own version of the Champs-Elysees. If every municipal project across the state, and the government spending to support it, were truly as vital as Gov. Walker says, crews would be working around the clock, exhausted and nearly broke.