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Mayor says state declined Griffith roundabout; city highlights recurring signal damage
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Summary
Mayor Matt Zacker said state reviewers removed a proposed roundabout at Griffith and 8th from the current project scope, and he outlined recurring traffic-signal damage, long-range 8th Street work, and planned downtown reconfiguration near the Mead Hotel.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Mayor Matt Zacker said state transportation reviewers declined to include a roundabout at Griffith (County Highway Z) and 8th Street in the current project scope, even though the city and county had sought the change to reduce frequent traffic-signal damage.
"It would have been kind of a bit of a battle with the state to just see if we could do it," Zacker said, adding that the state told local officials the roundabout would delay the project even if the city and county covered costs. He said the public works committee asked the full council to weigh in and that most council members indicated they did not want to pursue it further.
Zacker described recurring incidents in which trucks and collisions pull down traffic signals near high-traffic intersections, requiring expensive replacements. "They're a little bit like magnets," he said of the lights that often get taken out; he noted replacement work is contracted to WWLC and paid from city streets and engineering budgets with contingencies for such events.
Work on 8th Street is scheduled in phases (Zacker referenced 2028 and later work into 2030–2032 for a second half of the corridor). He said larger downtown redevelopment plans tied to the bridge-to-Grand Avenue corridor will change parking and street layouts: "1st Avenue and Market Street most likely are going to be or they are going to be vacated," he said, which would create a larger parcel near the courthouse and Mead Hotel for future development.
Zacker said his long-term preference is to move toward roundabouts where feasible, but that as mayor his role is to implement council decisions once taken. The mayor also thanked city streets and parks crews for their recent response to a sudden two-foot snowfall and an ice storm that produced tree and power-line damage, noting mutual aid from Marshfield helped utility crews restore service.
Next steps: Zacker said he will coordinate with county engineer Roland Hawk about whether to continue pursuing a roundabout and will work with the council and county on any follow-up actions.
