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Wausau council rejects current Highway 52 design, sends plan back to staff after months of public debate
Summary
After several committee meetings and public comment, the Common Council declined to adopt the infrastructure committee's blended design for State Highway 52 (Wausau Avenue), citing unresolved neighborhood concerns and right-of-way constraints. The project will return to staff for further work with DOT and local stakeholders.
The Wausau Common Council on Tuesday declined to adopt the infrastructure committee's design recommendation for State Highway 52 (East Wausau Avenue) from North Sixth Street to North Eighteenth Street, and directed staff and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation partners to return to the drawing board.
Council members and residents debated safety, right-of-way limits and whether to build a two-way left-turn lane (called a "twiddle" in committee documents), dedicated bike lanes or a south-side multiuse path. City engineer Alan Waslowski and consultant Stephanie Christiansen of EMCs told the council the corridor has a high crash rate between Sixth and Thirteenth streets and that the DOT's design standards limit lane narrowing and curb-to-curb changes.
The infrastructure and facilities committee had earlier endorsed a blended solution meant as a compromise: a two-way left-turn lane from Sixth to Thirteenth and a different cross section from Thirteenth to Eighteenth that included a…
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