WC Wisconsin News

A bridge that borders UW-Eau Claire’s campus now sits in infamy after being highlighted for appearing on David Letterman’s Top 10 Coldest Places in America list.

“You never know what you’re going to get on the bridge,” junior student Jackson Buchholz told SpectrumNews1.com. “Whether that’s crazy wind, a sunny day or maybe a hurricane that picks you up and throws you in the river.”

Nestled directly above the Chippewa River, Buchholz and countless classmates now view surviving a walk across the bridge as a rite of passage.

“It really creates a sense of community,” he added. “Not only for the campus community, but for alumni as well.”

As all the fanfare has swelled, students have elected to embrace the madness, kicking off the so-called "Bridgeface" campaign, which has taken social media by storm and generated untold entertainment across the campus and through the city as a whole.

“I think it’s almost 1,000 now, the amount of photos students have taken on the bridge,” Buchholz added. “It’s crazy how big it’s gotten.”

Part of the fun involves students dressing in as many layers as they can and taking a jaunt across the bridge that’s captured in picture.

“Upcoming freshman are already getting ready for their #bridgeface photos,” Buchholz joked.

UW-Eau Claire geography and anthropology department professor Dr. Doug Faulkner has studied the issue and still has questions.

“Is it the coldest place? Probably not,” he said. “Certainly not in the country, but maybe not even in the city. What makes it really cold is the wind, which blows up the river when cold fronts come in. The river is oriented just right, going a little northwest and that’s where the coldest winds come from when cold fronts come through.”

Through it all, Buchholz is finding amusement in all the attention and back-and-forth debate the bridge has created.

“Everyone needs to have a #Bridgeface photo,” he said.