First step in highway makeover starts next month
MILTON — The Wisconsin Department of Transportation next month will take the first step to move Highway 59 and Highway 26 around Milton, a five-year project causing optimism and some concern among Milton officials.
Construction to move Highway 59 a quarter-mile south between St. Mary Street and Vickerman Road will start the first week of May, project manager Tom Wickus said.
The move is part of a $400 million upgrade to Highway 26 between Janesville and Watertown that will change the face of Milton’s east side.
The project eventually will turn Highway 26 into a four-lane highway with few intersections. Most of the roads now connecting to the highway will become overpasses or underpasses, and the highway will be redirected around Milton instead of cutting across the edge of the city as it does now.
By the end of the project, around 2014, the intersection of highways 26 and 59 will form a major interchange southeast of its present location.
Milton officials have said the new interchange will create a “grand entryway” into Milton. An architectural drawing created a couple of years ago shows decorative streetlights, meadows, median plants and ornamental trees around the bypass.
But with the change comes some concern.
Mayor-elect Tom Chesmore said at a candidate forum that he worries the Highway 26 bypass could cause Milton to get passed over. City council candidates echoed his concern.
“You see so many cities that get bypassed, and certain parts of the city begin to die off because the people, the volume isn’t there anymore,” Chesmore said.
That’s why it’s important to attract businesses near the new bypass that will draw traffic into Milton and its existing businesses, he said.
Outgoing Mayor Nate Bruce expressed optimism about the project during the campaign. He said he’d like to see an upscale restaurant, hotel and meeting center locate near the interchange, ideally planned by a single developer.
The highway moves also will open up more space in the city’s industrial park. Administrator Todd Schmidt has said the changes will attract businesses seeking easy highway access.
Some changes will appear sooner than others. Though the Highway 26 upgrade won’t start until 2011 or 2012, three roundabouts and a second set of stoplights will go in this summer, Wickus said.
Construction on the first phase is scheduled to wrap up Nov. 13, project engineer Tara Weiss said. Most of the work will take place on the new portion of highway, so residents won’t notice much difference on the existing Highway 59, she said.
“It’s got a limited impact,” she said.
About the project
The first step toward a major change in Milton’s layout shouldn’t cause much hassle for residents when it gets underway next month, state Department of Transportation officials said.
The first phase of a Highway 26 upgrade in Milton will start the first week of May, project manager Tom Wickus said. The state Department of Transportation will move Highway 59 between Vickerman Road and St. Mary Street about a quarter-mile south.
The move will prepare the area for a new Highway 26/Highway 59 interchange southeast of the existing intersection. The state decided to move Highway 59 away from the train tracks to create more room for interchange ramps, project engineer Tara Weiss said.
In 2011 or 2012, the state will start directing Highway 26 around Milton by moving the portion of Highway 26 between Milton-Harmony Town Line Road and the Rock-Jefferson county line east of the existing highway, Wickus said.
The highway will be expanded to four lanes between Janesville and Watertown, and most roads now connecting to the highway will become overpasses or underpasses.
Highway 59 construction should wrap up around Nov. 13, 2009, Weiss said. Most of the work will take place on the new section of road, so drivers will notice little difference on the existing road, she said.
Toward the end of construction, there will be lane and shoulder closures on the existing portion, she said.
The old portion of Highway 59 will remain open after the new portion is complete, Wickus said. The traffic lights at the existing 59/26 intersection will remain, and a second set of lights will be installed where the new Highway 59 intersects the existing Highway 26.
Crews also will install three roundabouts this summer in preparation for the expanded Highway 26. One eventually will become an onramp from Highway 59 to the upgraded Highway 26, one will become an off-ramp, and one will guide drivers through the intersection of the new Highway 59 and County M, Weiss said.
Work from Milton bypass to Fort Atkinson should be complete by 2014.
Apr 15, 2009 at 6:50 p.m.
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Mt. Horeb has several roundabouts... it was my first experience with them. After a few trips to visit daughter-in-law, I found them mighty danged easy to maneuver. What a fabulous alternative to the 4 way stop sign intersections. Especially at those intersections where you sit for 3 or 4 minutes just trying to turn right because other drivers don't remember driver's Ed class!!!
Apr 12, 2009 at 7:24 p.m.
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i hate it when i have to stop at a stop sign and look both ways before crossing.
Apr 12, 2009 at 5:18 p.m.
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I have driven the roundabouts in Germany and there was never a problem.
Also, many of the trucks in Germany sometimes had two trailers attached something that only has come into effect in the last 10 /12 yrs here.
Common sense and common courtesty are required and if you can't do that then you shouldn't even be driving at all.
Apr 12, 2009 at 1:37 p.m.
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When talk first started about this bypass concerns were raised on what damage would happen to the Milton House foundation.Did the DOT do any studies or has the bypass been moved from where they originally planned ? I believe it was going to be behind Milton House on Storr's Lake rd.
Apr 12, 2009 at 12:17 p.m.
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janesvillean, Your link just proved the comment made by concernedcommercialdriver. Large tractor/trailers are UNABLE to stay in their lanes in a roundabout. Proper yielding or not, its not safe.
Also, if you have driven in Europe you will notice that their trucks are generally smaller that the ones found in the United States. Larger and longer trucks will mean even more lane deviation.
Apr 12, 2009 at 12:05 p.m.
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janesvillian: It is not true that all roundabouts have these rules. The rules governing roundabouts in MA are distinct from those governing them in England. Nor are they so easy to negotiate. The rules on yielding to people entering the highway don't always work on our interstates: why would it be any easier in a roundabout?
Apr 12, 2009 at 11:07 a.m.
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concernedcommercialdriver, modern roundabouts have been used in Europe for some time and have been extensively studied by many levels of government. I believe you're simply misunderstanding how they work.
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First, the center island has a surrounding curbing that is actually there to allow trailers to negotiate the turn. Second, other vehicles are by law required to yield to vehicles already in the roundabout. If a truck enters the roundabout other vehicles should give it a wide berth just as they should at a regular four-way intersection when a semi makes a turn. If anyone is in your adjacent lane, they are not just crazy, but breaking the law.
http://www.alaskaroundabouts.com/Dowling...
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Believe me, highway engineers know how trucks work. The sharpness of a roundabout's curve is a design feature because it slows traffic down. Roundabouts are proven to be many times safer than four-way controlled intersections. This is because instead of 32 points of conflict (for a standard four-way) there are only eight in a roundabout.
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tbcoach, a project map is here:
http://www.dot.wi.gov/projects/wis26corr...
Apr 12, 2009 at 11:02 a.m.
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Hannah... true, people are so impatient these days. It gets worse during the summer season with out-of-towners, not familiar with that intersection.
Apr 12, 2009 at 10:42 a.m.
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they also need 4 lanes from jefferson to watertown. it turns into 4 only for a stretch. traffic bad there too!!
Apr 12, 2009 at 10:41 a.m.
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blue wolf- you must not be to picky if you think janesvile has enough upscale restaurants. i can think of only three- armory and the "upscale "menu is GONE!!, metro and speakeasy. you need to get out of the city more to find a real upscale rest.
gma0f3- youre correct.to jefferson for me every day. i cannot wait also. i just wonder what it will be like tryiny to get there during this. a week or so ago one at n and 26 on wed AND sat. the most i see thought is somebody WONT wait to cross. you can see the traffic coming. the sat one somebody made an incorrect left turn- rushing again i think!
Apr 12, 2009 at 10:35 a.m.
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I would wish that the traffic design and engineering team will take a very long hard look at the design when planning "roundabouts". An important part of the success of a bypass will be moving commercial through traffic away from congested city streets as well as allowing access to the new industrial park.
In my personal experience, recent "roundabouts" have not been designed in such a manner to allow Large Commercial Vehicles to traverse the "roundabout" while staying in their lane of traffic. A successful design would have a large enough arc to allow Large Commercial Vehicles to go completely around the "roundaout" without deviating from their lane of traffic.
For example: See the design put in place at the intersection of Interstate 43 and Moorland Rd. near New Berlin. This "roundabout" creates traffic hazzards by causing Large Commercial Vehicles to swing wide, out of their lane, to avoid hitting the curbs and at the same time causes a severely limited view of adjacent traffic and traffic behind because the degree in which vehicle is turned...the mirror view offers only a view of the trailer on one side and on the opposite side the view is too wide now to see a standard vehicle along side.
A study of similar intersections needs to be completed by traffic engineers to determine the best diameter for a "roundabout". Once completed, one may find that the additional land and pavement required may outweigh the benefit of reducing a 4-way signal controlled intersection.
Apr 12, 2009 at 10:01 a.m.
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Anything that will eliminate the accidents at N and 26 will be a welcome change. There are several accidents a month at that intersection. My husband drives that stretch everyday from Milton to Fort. Its a death-trap!
Apr 12, 2009 at 9:42 a.m.
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I would like to see the map included or at least a link to the source.
Apr 12, 2009 at 9:39 a.m.
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I think Janesville has enough upscale restaurants, hotels and meeting centers. Its only 5 miles away not 50. Milton purchased good farm land for this industrial park, bring factories in. Alot of people will shop in the town where they work and lunch time is fast food and food deliveries.
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