EAU CLAIRE — Eau Claire’s road construction projects are running on schedule or ahead of schedule, said Deputy City Engineer Tim Pluth.
“I think we’ll probably hit most everything this year by the end of October,” he said. “We generally like to have most of our streets paved and the concrete done by the end of October, but it’s not uncommon for us to go into the middle of November with our projects.”
He mentioned a few major road projects that are taking place this summer.
“One of our major projects is over on Menomonie Street,” he said. “We are installing a roundabout to help traffic flow with the new Sonnentag Center that’s being built there.”
He said the roundabout should open as soon as this Friday.
“That project is actually ahead of schedule,” said Pluth.
Another project running ahead of schedule and likely to open this week is Fairfax Street.
“That is a street that borders with the City of Eau Claire and the City of Altoona,” he said. “It’s a project that’s actually 80 percent funded by the Department of Transportation. There are federal funds involved. The rest of the cost is shared by the City of Altoona and the City of Eau Claire.”
He also mentioned an ongoing State Street project that is running on schedule and a pedestrian underpass on Menomonie Street just east of Carson Park Drive.
“(The pedestrian underpass) is scheduled to start in early August,” he said. “That one might go into early November just to complete the retaining walls and accessories that are needed.”
“So lots is going on,” said City Engineer Leah Ness, but she said that much of this is planned well in advance.
“We don’t just determine that next year we’re going to redo this street,” she said. “We have a five year capital improvement plan. Most of these projects are on our radar.”
She said that there are a lot of different factors that go into these decisions about street improvements.
“It’s the age of the utilities, safety concerns, if there’s been crash patterns in that area, how pavement condition is,” she said. “We try to balance the projects over geographic areas, so we don’t have a lot of projects in one neighborhood and no projects in a different neighborhood.”
Both Ness and Pluth acknowledged that navigating around road construction can be a hassle.
“If you enter a construction zone, be aware of signage,” said Pluth. “Be aware of construction personnel that are working. Slow down. Do not go through barricades that say ‘road closed.’ Turn around, follow detours, and use safe driving practices.”
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