Green Bay Reporter

It's been more than three decades since boaters could wade the waters through the Kaukauna part of the Fox River locks system, but now, thanks to upgrades they can travel through the area once again. 

Post Crescent reported that the recent $2.3 million repairs to the Veterans Memorial Lift Bridge made way for open access to the Kaukauna section of the Fox River. 

"Repaired lift bridge in Kaukauna leads to the reopening of five locks for boaters on the Fox River," Duke Behnke, a reporter for the Post Crescent, wrote in a July 13 tweet. 

According to TCH Daily News, this is the first time this portion of the river has been open to boaters since the 1980s and is the only fully restored section in the nation where the lock system is still hand-operated. 

The lock system in Kaukauna is more than 170 years old and was originally built in 1848, TCH Daily News reported.

According to the Post Crescent, the Fox River Navigational System Authority plans to build a 1.3-mile walking trail along the river beside the locks and some of the money for the project would come from grants through the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund.