A Milwaukee bridge operator who was fired after a downtown span began to rise with a pedestrian still on it is now fighting to get his job back, turning a tense moment over the Milwaukee River into a full-blown personnel battle at City Hall.
The city’s discharge notice identifies Anthony S. Bass as the operator on duty when the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge started to open over the Milwaukee River on Aug. 22, 2025. According to the paperwork, a captain of a nearby tour boat warned that someone was still on the deck as the bascule span began to lift, but the bridge continued to move.
As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the city’s formal discharge notice accuses Bass of failing to follow required procedures to make sure the bridge decks were clear before an opening. The document states that the Wisconsin Avenue span began to rise while a pedestrian remained on it and that the operator did not stop the lift after being alerted. The paper reports that the discharge paperwork was filed with the city’s personnel office this week.
How Bascule Bridges Are Supposed To Work
HistoricBridges.org and engineering guides note that movable bridges like Milwaukee’s river crossings rely on a strict sequence of safety checks before anything moves. That includes visual clearance of the deck, radio or phone confirmation with marine traffic, and properly working physical barriers to keep people and vehicles from sneaking through at the last second…