This winter, construction will begin on a nearly $12 million pair of recreational bridges linking Dane and Sauk counties and nearly 20 years in the making, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. The bridges near Sauk City will create access for pedestrians, cyclists, and snowmobiles while expanding Wisconsin’s trails.
The bridges will connect Dane County to Devil’s Lake State Park by way of the Great Sauk State Trail across the Wisconsin River. The trail connection is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of the region’s cyclists and snowmobilers, generating over $6 million annually in direct economic impact, according to a 2021 UW–Extension study.
The larger of the two bridges will span the river and end at Sauk City’s Water Street and the trailhead for the Great Sauk Trail. Dane and Sauk counties are supplying $2 million for that portion of the project. The remainder of the funding comes from a $5.6 million transportation grant Sauk City received from the state and a $1 million snowmobiling grant from the Department of Natural Resources.
A smaller railroad bridge over another branch of the river will be repurposed by Dane County and connected to the larger bridge by 500 feet of paved trail. The county will fund this leg of the project with $1.6 million in state grant funds.
The bridges are set to open in mid-2026.
