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Marathon County committee backs all-way stop at County Road XXX and Pine Road after safety study
Summary
The Marathon County Infrastructure Committee voted 4-1 to recommend an all-way stop at the County Road XXX and Pine Road intersection after an engineering study found the location met warrants for change; the committee also discussed temporary measures and visibility concerns from residents.
The Marathon County Infrastructure Committee voted 4-1 on Sept. 4 to forward a recommendation to the full county board to convert the County Road XXX and Pine Road intersection to an all‑way stop, following a traffic-safety study and public comment.
The committee’s recommendation comes after an engineering study by JT Engineering found that crash data from February 2024 met the warrants for an intersection configuration change. The county’s highway staff recommended installing an all‑way stop as a near‑term measure and monitoring the location for future changes.
The study presented three incremental options: improved sight distance through clearing and property purchase; conversion to an all‑way stop; and construction of a roundabout. Highway staff reported the all‑way stop yields a benefit‑to‑cost ratio of 106.9 and would cost about $20,000, while a roundabout would cost roughly $1,300,000 and had a benefit‑to‑cost ratio of 2.6.
David Baker, who identified himself as village president of Cronowater and a resident at 690 Happy Hollow Road, told the committee the village solicited resident feedback and that “the vast majority of the feedback that I have received has been supportive of adding all‑way stops at the intersection as incremental safety improvement.”
Kevin Lang, Marathon County highway staff (Highway Commissioner), said the county intends to install flashing LED stop signs, advance “stop ahead” signs with temporary flags, and temporary glue‑down rumble strips about 250 feet in advance of the stop to alert drivers during the changeover.
Supervisors raised questions about sight lines and vegetation on private property near the intersection. Lang said most of the vegetation appears on private property at or just inside the property line and that local zoning — not county highway maintenance — would govern restrictions on plantings in vision triangles. The committee agreed staff would check on the tall grass and potential zoning or enforcement options.
Supervisor Jensen asked whether accidents involved traffic coming from Pine Road; Lang said one crash was related to Pine traffic, and that traffic volumes on Pine are lower because it serves local commuters. Committee members discussed outreach and enforcement as complementary measures to the traffic control change.
The committee motion to recommend the all‑way stop carried with four votes in favor and one opposed. The motion will move to the full Marathon County Board for final action.
The committee directed staff to include an implementing resolution in the county board packet so citations would be enforceable under county code if needed, and to monitor the intersection after installation to determine whether additional measures are warranted.
