Roadwork immune to coronavirus shutdown

One thing the coronavirus outbreak can’t stop is road construction season.

Orange construction barrels have begun popping up around Ozaukee County, with major projects on the north side of Port Washington on and around the I-43 overpass and at the intersection of Highway 32 and I-43.

Work at highways LL and H has also begun.

The $1.1 million project at I-43 near Seven Hills Road aims to rebuild Highway LL from Wisconsin Street to Highland Road, Highway H from the I-43 ramps to Highway KW and the I-43 ramp area at Highway H. With design work costing about $95,900 and  a construction management contract of $139,666, the total project cost will be about $1.33 million.

That project was delayed after no bids were received last year to rebuild Highway LL because the project, costing $600,000, was too small, officials said.

This year the county tried again by combining it with the two Highway H projects plus those at highways LL and KK.

The low bid for all four projects, however, came in at $1.42 million, which was over the county’s estimated budget.

The LL and KK project was consequently removed from the project list and will be rebid in a couple of years, officials say.

Ozaukee County is already approved for about $700,000 in County Highway Improvement Program funds from the state, leaving the county to foot the rest of the approximately $630,000 cost.

While lanes may be closed at times, plans call for the I-43 overpass to remain open throughout construction, which is slated to end in August.

Work also is being done on the Highway 32 bridge of I-43 as part of a state bridge maintenance project. Other bridge resurfacing projects planned include those at Arrowhead Drive, Ulao Parkway, highways KK and P, Sauk Road and Silver Beach Road.

Work on those locations may continue until November.

Other projects this season include a 2.5-inch pavement overlay on Highway LL from Highway 33 to Highway B, expected to begin in June and cost $450,000; a 2.5-inch overlay on Highway H from Highway KW near Port Washington to Highway A near Fredonia, expected to begin in July and cost $1 million; and an overlay project on Port Washington Road from Pioneer Road to Opportunity Drive in Mequon beginning in August and costing $800,000.

Several chip sealing projects will be conducted from June 22 through June 28 on Highway CC from South Spring Street to Lakeshore Road; Highway D from I-43 east to Highway D’s dead end; Highway LL from Lake Drive to Highway A; Highway C from Highway CC to Port Washington’s city limits.

Among state projects, the $450 million expansion of I-43 from four lanes to six lanes from Highway 32 to Silver Spring Road in Milwaukee is in the design phase. Construction on that project won’t begin until 2022, officials say.

Work also has begun at the intersection of Highway 60 and Granville Road in the Town of Cedarburg, where the state will build a roundabout, and on resurfacing Highway 60 and adding turn lanes from Eagle Drive in Washington County to Five Corners in the Town of Cedarburg.

Future state projects include resurfacing Highway 57 from I-43 to Highway W in 2021, costing $1.7 million, and installing a roundabout at highways 33 and I in 2023 at a cost of $1.6 million.

Several fatal accidents have occurred at the intersection in the last few years.