Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
The U.S. 51 bridge over U.S. 2, seen here Friday, will be replaced by a roundabout this year. Work on the project is scheduled to start in May, according to a Wisconsin Department of Transportation regional construction preview released Thursday.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley - The plan for this season's road work in Iron County, including the construction of the county's first roundabout, is beginning to take shape after the Wisconsin Department of Transportation released its first regional construction preview Thursday.
Work replacing the existing interchange between U.S. 2 and U.S. 51 with a roundabout is scheduled to begin in May and run through November, with holiday work restrictions expected for the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends.
"Work will be done in stages to maintain through-traffic," a WisDOT spokesperson said in the construction preview. "A temporary intersection will be constructed to the west of the existing overpass. Motorists should expect to encounter single-lane closures, width restrictions and intermittent flagging operations throughout the duration of the project."
The project is expected to cost $3,893,205, according to the preview.
Access to businesses within the project limits will be maintained through gravel driveways for periods of time.
In conjunction with the roundabout project, WisDOT is scheduled to begin a project repaving 8.4 miles of U.S. 2 between County B and State Line Road in Kimball in August. That project, which will also replace a culvert and the existing guard rail over the West Fork of the Montreal River, is expected to last 2.5 months and cost $2,352,455.
During that project, traffic will be controlled through flagging operations, according to the construction preview, and access disruptions are expected to be limited to short periods as the mill or paver passes by.
WisDOT is also planning a project on U.S. 51 between County C to Iron Street in Hurley for the late summer and fall of 2021.
Along with the WisDOT projects, the Iron County Highway Department is also planning work on County B in the town of Saxon.
"We're going to be ... reconditioning 2.7 miles of County B North," Iron County Highway Commissioner Mike Swartz said. "Knowing U.S. 2 is getting redone, I was hoping to get real good asphalt prices for the summer - which we did, we got some pretty good prices."
He said the exact timeline of the project will be dependent on when blacktopping can occur, but that the preliminary work preparing the site was already underway.
County B will stay open during the project, according to Swartz, with flagging operations in place.
Although work likely won't take place for a couple years, Swartz said he is also pushing for a Wisconsin 122 project if additional federal highway money becomes available.
That project would likely include a total reconstruction of the road, according to Swartz.
Along with the Iron County projects, WisDOT's construction estimate included projects around the North Central Region.
These include:
-A $2.4 million project on 9.1 miles of Wisconsin 139 between Fay Lake Road and the Michigan state line in Florence County starting in April.
-A $1.5 million project on 5 miles of Wisconsin 139 from the Forest County line to Fay Lake Road in Florence County starting in mid-July.
-Work on 8.6 miles of Wisconsin 32 from Wabeno to U.S. 8 in Crandon in Forest County starting in late June or early July.
-A $3.9 million project on 12.62 miles of Wisconsin 101 in Florence and Forest counties this summer and fall.
-Work on 6.8 miles of U.S. 51 from the Lincoln County line in Pine River to County K in Merrill starting in August and running through November 2022.
-Work on the County Q bridge over U.S. 51 in the town of Scott in Lincoln County starting in July.
-A $1 million project on Wisconsin 52 and Business U.S. 51 in Wausau starting in mid-June.
-A $1.6 million project on Old Highway 51 and the I-39 ramps at Wisconsin 153 in Mosinee in Marathon County starting this spring.
-Work on U.S. 51 in the towns of Cassian and Nokomis in Oneida County starting sometime between May and August.
-Work on Wisconsin 70 from Morgan Road to U.S. 51 in Minocqua starting in July.
-Work on U.S. 51 between Woodland Drive to Vilas County Road M in the town of Arbor Vitae starting in late summer.
-Work on Wisconsin 70 between U.S. 45 and Divide Road in Vilas County starting in April.
A complete list of projects, along with more information on the individual projects, can be found at projects.511wi.gov/
weeklyupdates-nc/overview/2021-annual-construction-preview.
