Menomonee Avenue reconstruction to start in April, village engineer says

Tom Hoffman, director of engineering and development, told the Village Board of Menomonee Falls on Monday that reconstruction of Menomonee Avenue from Town Hall Road to Appleton Avenue is scheduled to begin in earnest after utilities relocate and weather allows, with a planned completion the second week of November.

Hoffman said the project is a complete reconstruction that will include two travel lanes, parking on the north side, sidewalks on both sides and narrowed roadway on the south to accommodate the sidewalk within the existing right of way. “Westbound traffic will always be on Menomonee Avenue,” Hoffman said, adding that westbound access will not be detoured because the street is an ambulance route to the hospital.

The board was told that eastbound traffic will be detoured for the summer via Town Hall Road to Main Street to Appleton Avenue and back to Menomonee Avenue. Access to businesses and residences will be maintained except when crews are working directly in front of a driveway; Hoffman said crews must provide 72 hours’ notice before blocking access.

Hoffman said the project is being run by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation as an STP (Surface Transportation Program) urban project and that utilities have a relocation deadline of April 1. “They have till April 1 to get out of the way,” Hoffman said. He said contractor Super Western will do a small startup in March to remove trees; tree work must precede ground-disturbing activity because of protections for the North American long-eared bat. Once utilities are clear and weather permits, Hoffman said traffic control and detours would be implemented in early April, with crews focusing first on a box culvert near Kiwanis Park then the remainder of the storm sewer and road work.

Hoffman said no new right-of-way acquisitions were necessary; the work will fit within the existing right of way with some temporary limited easements (TLEs). He described several planned curb bump-outs — one at Schneider Drive across from the YMCA, another across from a medical clinic on Jacobson, and a third near LeVern — intended to shorten pedestrian crossing distances and improve safety.

Board members asked for clarification on where work would begin and about coordination with the nearby hospital. Hoffman said construction will start on the north side because that is where the largest storm sewer work is located, and that project staff and the village have been coordinating with hospital representatives and Aurora contact points. He also said the project team meets weekly and that the DOT project manager is Phil Cia; the DOT on-site manager is Jeff Murrow.

The board did not take any vote on the reconstruction during the update; Hoffman presented the status report and schedule information to the board during the reports and presentations portion of the meeting.