Construction beginning on US 18 (Bluemound Road) in Waukesha County

February 16, 2012

Community encouraged to attend construction kick-off meeting

Resurfacing work will soon begin on the US 18 (Bluemound Road) project from just east of Moorland Road to I-94, as announced by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).

WisDOT invites the community to attend a construction kick-off meeting to share traffic handling and business access information and concerns during this year’s construction:

• When: Tuesday, February 28, from 4:30 – 7 p.m.
• Where: City of Brookfield Public Safety Building (Municipal Courtroom), 2100 North Calhoun Road, Brookfield, WI

This open house is the sixth in a series of US 18 public meetings to engage stakeholders. Representatives from WisDOT will be available to meet one-on-one to explain plans and answer questions.

"This 3.5 mile segment of US 18 is lined with retail and service businesses," said Steven Schindler, project manager with WisDOT. "We understand the importance of keeping safe access to businesses in this corridor."

The contractor, Payne and Dolan, Inc., will begin construction in early March and finish work by Labor Day 2012, weather permitting. Bluemound Road will remain open to traffic during construction with temporary lane shifts and changes in how customers access businesses, driveways and cross streets. This segment of Bluemound Road currently has three lanes of through traffic, dedicated left turn lanes, a fourth lane for buses, bicycles and right turns, and grass medians. To accommodate construction, some lanes will be closed at various times. Access to businesses will be maintained except for short periods to pave driveways. Median openings to residential streets will also remain open most of the time.

This $14.1 million project will:

• Lengthen turn lanes at the intersection of Bluemound Road (US 18) and Barker Road.
• Extend Executive Drive to the north, connect with Wisconsin Avenue and reconfigure Executive Drive to the south.
• Add another westbound travel lane along Bluemound between Ruf Road and Moorland Road.

This project is the middle segment of the overall 7.5 mile resurfacing project between 124th Street in the village of Elm Grove to Manhattan Drive in the city of Waukesha and is constructed in three segments:

• East segment resurfacing from 124th Street to just east of Moorland Road was completed in 2011, along with another project that reconstructed Bluemound Road from 124th Street to Highway 100 in Wauwatosa.
• Middle segment of the project from just east of Moorland Road to I-94 is about to begin and is estimated for completion by Labor Day 2012.
• Construction of the west segment from I-94 to Manhattan Drive is currently planned for 2017 pending funding.

Motorists are advised to plan ahead and stay alert in the work zone.

For more information, contact:
Communications Manager Emlynn Grisar, WisDOT SE Region
(262) 521-5373, emlynn.grisar@dot.wi.gov