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Dunn County reports fall push to finish paving and seeks outside funding for major bridge work at Cedar Falls
Summary
At a Sept. 10 Dunn County Highway Committee meeting staff said paving and storm-sewer work on several county and town roads is nearing completion and described plans to apply for state bridge-replacement funds for the Cedar Falls span, with engineering proposals due this month.
Dunn County Highway Committee staff reported Sept. 10 that paving and other field operations are nearing completion on several town and county roads and that the county will pursue state funding to replace the Cedar Falls bridge.
Brent, a highway operations staff member, said crews finished work recently on O'Galley and the Town of Lucas and were completing the Town of Weston and other local projects. “We started the bridge yesterday, and we're hoping that that is completed today,” Brent said, describing ongoing pulverizer, subgrade and curb-and-gutter work.
Justin, a highway engineering staff member, said the county is accelerating work on County Road D and County Road G and has reassigned staff to shorten an estimated two- to two-and-a-half-month scope into roughly six weeks. “I would anticipate there's probably, like I say, two, two and a half months of work that we're trying to get down here in a month and a half,” Justin said.
The committee accepted one curb-and-gutter proposal for the County Road D/G project. The county received a single bid from PEMPER Companies at $13.69 per foot; staff reported that the statewide planning estimate had been about $20 per foot and recommended acceptance of the lower proposal.
Staff said the County Road C repaving project — roughly a three-mile stretch in Old Valley budgeted at about $737,000 — will be carried forward into 2026 because crews lack time to complete it this season. Officials also discussed moving the County Road B project off next year's list to improve the county's chance of winning outside funding through state programs. Justin described the Agriculture Road Improvement Program (ARIP), the Surface Transportation Program (STP) and the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP) as potential sources: "If we can, whatever, get even 50% of it paid for, that's better than 100% of local funds paying for it," he said.
Cedar Falls bridge: staff said they have put the Cedar Falls bridge on a replacement track and are soliciting qualifications from engineering firms to prepare an application and estimate for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Staff reported consultants' early ballpark estimates at $6 million to $10 million and noted the program cap has increased from $5 million to $10 million. Justin said proposals to prepare the application were due Oct. 31 and that the DOT typically notifies applicants of awards in March; design and right-of-way work would follow if the project is approved.
Why it matters: staff said the county's goal is to finish high-priority surfacing and drainage work before winter, to minimize carrying work into next year, and to pursue state grant programs for large projects to reduce local costs.
Next steps: staff will continue curb, pulverize and paving work as weather permits, finalize acceptance of the curb-and-gutter contract for County Road D/G, and submit the Cedar Falls replacement application and cost estimate to the DOT if engineering proposals yield a firm estimate.
