MILWAUKEE — Crews finally began removing debris from under Milwaukee's Pleasant Street Bridge on Tuesday, more than three months after mid-August floods left massive tree trunks and litter piled up in the waterway.
Milwaukee's Department of Public Works rented cranes to clear the buildup that has been an eyesore for residents and a challenge for local boat operators since the summer flooding.
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"I was just going to get my coffee this morning, and I saw the cranes out, and I said, I gotta go check this out. I've been waiting for something to happen all summer," said Nick Doney, who works for Milwaukee Boat Line.
The debris created operational challenges for boat companies operating in the area. Doney said his company had to take matters into its own hands earlier.
"We also had to go, ourselves, come and clean up. We had to clear out bridges. We were hauling logs out because the city didn't really have any sort of response. There were so many disastrous things happening with the floods," Doney said.
Watch: Milwaukee crews finally remove flood debris from Pleasant Street Bridge after a 3-month buildup
The cleanup was delayed due to confusion over responsibility. In September, TMJ4 reported there was uncertainty between agencies about who was responsible for cleaning up the debris. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District didn't have a boat large enough to handle the mess.
"This was a really packed-up bridge, too," Doney said.
A Department of Public Works spokesperson told me in an email on Tuesday that "DPW is responsible for the bridges, not the river itself." However, the debris needed to be removed before winter when the river freezes.
DPW rented cranes for the project and spent Tuesday morning addressing the cleanup.
"I love watching the action happen, and they've looked like they've made a ton of progress today," Doney said.
DPW hopes to complete the operation by Wednesday, but will continue working until the job is finished.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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