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Highway department outlines capital requests, brine upgrades and paving schedule
Summary
Marathon County Highway staff summarized planned capital-improvement requests for 2026, ongoing brine-system upgrades and upcoming milling and paving work. Staff also reported improvements in the county's pavement condition (PACER) and recent safety countermeasures that have reduced crashes.
Marathon County Highway staff told the Infrastructure Committee May 1 that they will submit several capital-improvement requests for 2026, including bridge and roadway projects that carry federal STP funding and a request for a new asphalt paver quoted at about $643,127.
Highway Commissioner Jim reported on six capital projects in various stages of design and funding: three STP bridge projects (80% federally funded), County Trunk Highway J and U projects with partial outside funding, and replacement of large culverts on County Highway H with no outside funding currently available. Jim said the department will also request a coverall building for Stratford to separate a new higher-cost "solar salt" storage from other materials; he said the department has shifted to solar salt that costs about $140 per ton versus $104 for regular salt but notably reduces brine-maker cleaning frequency.
Jim said the department is implementing the prior CIP’s brine-system improvements and is placing a tank farm and ordering trucks. Milling operations are scheduled to begin May 19 with project completion planned in June. He reported crews collected significant roadside garbage this spring and have been working on ditch grading, shoulder widening and other safety countermeasures. Staff reported a 10.67% reduction in crashes from 2022 to 2024, which staff attributed in part to recent countermeasures including rumble strips, wider pavement markings and upgraded warning signs.
Committee members also reviewed pavement condition ratings. Staff said Marathon County’s PACER score has remained above 7.0 since 2015, with a 2024 rating of 7.27, and noted some of the recent improvements were due to projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Staff will submit the CIP requests to the county review process and return with funding recommendations and schedules.
