Wauwatosa presents $45–50 million North Avenue reconstruction and Menomonee River bridge replacements; businesses told to expect special‑assessment estimates

Jenny Schroeder, senior civil engineer for the City of Wauwatosa, presented details of the North Avenue reconstruction and replacement of the Menomonee River bridges to the committee, including roadway profile changes, utility replacements and Midtown streetscape elements.

The project: Schroeder said the work will replace the river bridge and an adjacent overflow structure, raise the roadway profile by about seven feet at the river crossing (requiring retaining walls on the Hampton Golf Course side), and reconstruct pavement from Meadowlark/Meadowlie to just west of Wauwatosa Avenue. The Wauwatosa Avenue intersection itself will be handled under a separate connecting project.

Bicycle, pedestrian and streetscape plans The preferred concept retains a pork‑chop pedestrian refuge at the Menomonee River Parkway intersection, realigns that island to approach North Avenue at a closer to 90‑degree angle and continues separated bike lanes through the intersection — which city staff said would be Wauwatosa’s first fully protected intersection for bikes and pedestrians if built as proposed. Staff described proposed…