Snake Bridge
Although the Wisconsin River and its tributaries were crucial to the settlement of nearby communities, they also posed a significant problem for people hoping to cross. To get from Wausau down to the Town of Rib Mountain, a bridge was needed to cross the flowage here–and in fact three different generations of bridges were used over the years.
The First Bridge(s)
By the late 1800s, a small bridge crossed the Big Rib River, connecting Wausau to what would become the Town of Rib Mountain. The bridge crossed almost completely east-west across the water. It appears to have been known as the McCleary Bridge, named for the family who lived in a pink home near the east side of the bridge. To ensure that the bridge didn’t block travel down the river (and to protect against it being washed away in spring floods) the McCleary Bridge was built with large inclines on each side, and the bridge itself was quite narrow
By the 1920s, there came a need for a new bridge to cross to the Town of Fleith (which was renamed Rib Mountain in the early 1930s). Changes to the waterways were widening the footprint of the Rib River and the old bridge was clearly a good candidate for replacing, as people had come to expect wider bridges to accommodate their automobiles.
“Snake Bridge”
The old McCleary Bridge was replaced in 1930. The new McCleary Bridge cost $68,000 to build and crossed north-south instead of east-west. An article in the local paper announced the finishing of this new bridge (and a handful of new bridges being built around the region), as modern “super-bridges.”
Unlike the previous “Snaky” bridge, the new McCleary Bridge ran largely north-south and was wide enough to allow for two lanes of traffic to cross simultaneously.
Officially, this was still known as McCleary Bridge, although Mr. McClearly had long since been forgotten by most people here. And although this bridge was straighter than the first one, its narrow and winding roadway prompted many locals to call it “Snake Bridge.”
Current Bridge
In 2004, the Snake Bridge was replaced by the wider, four-lane bridge we use today. This time it would connect on the Wausau side further west (at 17th Avenue) and cross the Flowage towards Rib Mountain, further straightening the bridge. Officially the name for the new bridge is still McCleary Bridge and many folks refer to it by the roads it connects. But you can still find people who still call it, “Snake Bridge” out of habit.
History Chats
We covered the "Snake Bridge" in more detail on a History Chats broadcast from January 5th, 2023.