More money needed for barge site repairs

LA CROSSE COUNTY, Wis. (WKBT) — More money is needed to repair a deteriorating barge site in La Crosse County.

The county approved $27,000 of additional funding to repair the Hintgen Island Harold E. Craig Fleeting facility.        

It’s a 20 percent match of the extra $108,000 of Wisconsin DOT money already given to the project.

The facility represents about 25 percent of the fleeting capacity of La Crosse’s port. However, high water over the years caused parts of the west side of the island to erode.

“As that erosion continues daily. we just are seeing we need to have additional material added to the backside, i.e. some rip wrap and some rock structures that will help trap sediment, instead of removing it from the island,” said Karl Green, UW-Extension.

Repairs are expected to start in the next couple of months.