A Bridge Rebuilt: Renewal at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy

The new replacement steel “Bridge to Nature” was installed over Southwick Creek near the main entrance to Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy on October 9, 2025. Custom manufactured by Bridge Brothers in South Carolina, our new bridge was installed by Glen Fern Construction of Lake Geneva. The new bridge replaces the previous cedar wood bridge that sustained heavy structural damage when a June, 2024 tornado passed through the Village and Kishwauketoe’s main entrance area. The Johnson family funded the original bridge in 2010 in memory of their father/husband, Tom Johnson. In a wonderful gesture, they made a substantial donation that kicked off the campaign for the new bridge! We were so please to have not only met our goal, but exceeded it!

Our new bridge is 36 feet long, 6 feet wide and structurally engineered to accommodate up to 6,000 pounds of landscape equipment. Fortunately, the bridge was able to be designed to utilize the original concrete pilings in order to reduce the overall replacement cost. 

We are very grateful for the wonderful support of our donors for raising nearly $60,000 to fund the cost of the bridge, installation and landscaping.  Early comments from Kishwauketoe visitors include “it looks like it’s always been there” and “it should last forever”. 

Our field manager was so excited about the bridge installation and re-access to KNC’s plateau trail along the west bank of Southwick Creek, which had been inaccessible while the bridge was out, that she quickly moved to install new trail timbers and steps at the north end of this trail on a steep creek bank that was often quite slippery and difficult to traverse. 

Come to KNC and check it out!