Milwaukee Avenue Repaving Project

Timing

The Milwaukee Avenue Project is scheduled to begin late March through roughly July, 2023.

updates

Browns Lake Drive Closed at Milwaukee Ave Beginning April 10

UPDATE - Starting this morning, Friday, April 14, the intersection is now open to through traffic on Browns Lake Drive and all turning motions.

Browns Lake Drive (County Highway W) will be closed at the intersection with Milwaukee Avenue for road repair beginning early morning on Monday April 10, 2023. Traffic on Brown’s Lake Drive will not be able to pass through the intersection but will be able to make right turns. Traffic on Milwaukee Avenue will be able to pass through the intersection and make right turns, but will not be able to make left turns. This closure is expected to last through the week and reopen on Friday April 14. Motorists using this corridor should plan to use alternate routes including Teut Rd, Buckley St, Plank Rd, and River Rd.

Milwaukee Avenue Project Public Informational Meeting 3/29/2023

In the coming weeks, reconstruction of Milwaukee Avenue from Teut Road to Browns Lake Drive (Hwy W) will begin. The Department of Public Works would like to invite you to a public informational meeting on from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Public Works Building Meeting Room, 2200 S. Pine Street. Any questions can be directed to the Department of Public Works at 262-342-1181.

background

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has received additional funding for the Surface Transportation Program (STP) through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). In January and February of 2022 WISDOT began to advertise additional grant funding opportunities they would be administering through their existing local programs like STP. In March 2022, the City of Burlington submitted several STP grant applications for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022 iteration of the program. We were informed on Thursday, May 12, 2022 that our application for Milwaukee Ave Resurfacing was successful. The STP program will provide over $2,000,000 towards eligible project costs for this project.

STP is a very attractive program because WISDOT pays 80% of project costs and the municipality pays only 20%. However, the FFY 2022 has some drawbacks. First, design costs, which are typically eligible for cost sharing, are not eligible as part of the FFY 2022 program due to the incredibly short design submittal deadline of August 1, 2022. Second, only "simple" projects would be considered because of the constraints on design approval. This means no projects would be considered that included complications from environmental, wetlands, utility relocation, railroads, or property acquisition.

The City selected Milwaukee Avenue Resurfacing as a project to submit because 1) pavement conditions warrant resurfacing (Passer Rating 6), and 2) the project was large but not complex and would be able to meet the design timeline. The proposed project includes milling the existing asphalt surface and overlaying with a minimum of 3‐inches of new asphalt pavement on driving lanes and shoulders. Shaping existing gravel shoulders is anticipated. Other improvements include removing and repairing damaged curb and gutter, adding curb and gutter to the Walton Road left‐turn lane, curb ramp and ADA updates, streetscaping improvements, new pavement marking and roadway signage updates. The existing path on the south side of the roadway will remain in place. The ground disturbing footprint is not anticipated to extend beyond the existing roadway shoulders and may extend up to 5 feet along the Walton Road left‐turn lane to facilitate curb installation and 3 feet beyond the existing curb ramps to facilitate ADA updates.

BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT:

The total project cost is $2,544,978. The state will cover 80% of eligible project expenses, up to a maximum of $2,031,182. They will then invoice the City for 20% of eligible project costs and 100% of ineligible project costs. It is estimated that the City's commitment will be $513,796. The city will also be responsible for all project costs once the state has reached their maximum contribution, including engineering design.