The Conklin House, a historic Madison landmark, moved from its original location on North Mills to its new home on East Mifflin Street Sunday to accommodate construction of a new apartment complex.
The inside was left intact,"" said Roman Szymberski, the owner of Stevens Construction Company that moved the house, ""but it was so large we had to cut it in half.""
One-half of the house now sits in the street on the 500 block of East Mifflin, which will remain closed until Wednesday, according to the Madison Traffic Engineering and Parking Divisions.
Workers used hydraulic jacks to lift the house and place beams underneath to support it at critical locations. Dollies are then rolled underneath and connected to the beams in order to transport the house.
According to Bryan Walker of City Traffic Engineering, moving a house is ""pretty rare."" ""Five or less [houses are moved] a year. Some years you may not do any.""
Moving a house also requires ""a lot of coordination with the various agencies,"" Szymberski said. ""Within the city you want to make sure you're not disrupting anything.""
To get a house-moving permit, the route the house will take must be planned according to the width and length of the dollies used to move it. Movers must take into account the weight of the house, and consider the presence of tree branches hanging over the road or street lights and signs that may be in the way, according to Walker.
To minimize traffic disruption, house-moving permits are generally issued for between midnight and 5 a.m. on Sunday nights, Walker said. ""[The] move started 8 p.m. Sunday night and they were allowed to go to 6 a.m.""
Only the 500 block of Mifflin Street, in front of the new site, was closed for the move. Other streets around the Capitol were blocked off while the house passed through intersections.
