The Wisconsin Department of Transportation asked the Board of Public Works on June 2 to recommend a preferred cross-section for a State Trunk Highway 16 pavement replacement project between Seventh and Twelfth streets; the board voted to postpone a final recommendation until its June 23 meeting and directed staff to gather additional committee input.

Randy Byam, project development supervisor for WisDOT, said the 2028 pavement replacement provides an opportunity to set a typical section — balancing traffic operations, pedestrian accommodations, bicycle facilities and on-street parking — for a corridor the agency will not reconstruct again for many years. “We began with 13 different typical section alignments … and working with the city department of public works and engineering we whittled that down to four preferred alternatives,” Byam said, describing alternatives labeled A through D.

Alternatives differ on left-turn lanes, on-street parking and bike facilities. Alternative A includes a two-way left-turn lane and street-level bike lanes but no parking; B provides on-street parking on both sides with street-level bike lanes; C uses raised or sidewalk-level bike lanes with no parking to allow wider terraces; and D pairs raised bike lanes with parking on one side. Public input collected at an April 7 meeting favored alternatives D and B; participants prioritized pedestrian accommodations, followed by bicycle facilities and parking.

Board members and city councilors pressed DOT about pedestrian amenities, tree terraces, accessibility and whether the university and neighborhood representatives had been consulted. Byam said all sidewalks will be built to PROWAG (accessibility) standards and to city details, typically including a six-foot sidewalk. He said DOT staff are discussing crosswalk and crossing improvements for student residential areas north of La Crosse Street and will study the Seventh Street intersection separately as part of the broader corridor work.

Councilor Kalow and Councilor Janssen urged additional outreach to the Bike-Ped Advisory Committee (BPAC) and Citizens for Disability (CCD) and asked the DOT to consider tree terraces and canopy where feasible. Director Trane amended a motion to refer the item to the board’s June 23 meeting with specific direction that staff obtain recommendations from BPAC and CCD; Council President Dickinson seconded. The board voted unanimously to adopt the referral.

Byam said the referral shifts DOT’s schedule slightly but the agency prefers to finalize a typical section in collaboration with the city because the reconstructed corridor will remain in place for many years. He said another public information meeting will be held later in design and that selected elements (the bicycle facility type and parking level) will become part of the environmental document and state municipal financial agreement.

The board’s referral asks staff and DOT to return with committee input and a recommendation to the June 23 Board of Public Works meeting; final construction decisions and any municipal financial agreements will proceed after that input.