Over the next five years, Waupaca County highway officials plan to reconstruct 16 miles of roadway and repave 109 miles.
The total cost for all proposed 2013-17 county road projects is expected to reach nearly $31 million.
The county will need to borrow $4 million per year to cover the projected costs. The first two years of the 2013-17 plan are already covered by a three-year bond, which was approved in 2011.
To complete the last three years of the 2013-17 plan, the Waupaca County Board must approve new bonding.
“If we don’t have the long-term financing, we wouldn’t be able to do anywhere near the number of miles we plan to do,” County Highway Commissioner Dean Steingraber told the County Post. “We’re paying off the bonds in 10 years, and these roads will last much longer than 10 years.”
Proposed projects in the five-year plan are spread throughout the county.
When asked about County Q in Farmington, which has been postponed for several years, Steingraber said it remains scheduled for 2016.
“The Highway Committee recently looked at the condition of 10 roads,” Steingraber said, noting committee members toured the county roads to review its project schedule. “Is Q bad? Yes, it is. So is T. So is Y. So is C.”
Steingraber said the roads were evaluated according to their condition and the amount and type of traffic which travels a particular stretch of road.
Steingraber described two types of major road projects.
Construction projects involve rebuilding the roads, basically from scratch. The old pavement is stripped away and replaced. The road may also be widened and given paved shoulders, realigned to make it straighter and safer. New intersections, with turning lanes, may be installed as part of a constructin project.
Steingraber describes paving projects as “reclaim, shape and pave.”
The old asphalt is broken up and ground down, compacted and new asphalt laid over it.
Paving projects are substantially less expensive than construction, but do not last as long.
2013 projects
Work being done this summer includes paving County Road E, or State Street, between Badger and Mill streets in the city of Waupaca. The total length of the project is 0.3 miles for a cost of $100,000. An average of 3,005 vehicles travel this road per day.
A 2.15-mile section of County Y, from County I to State 156 in the town of Matteson near Clintonville, is being repaved this summer. The total cost is $415,000 and the average daily traffic count is 285 vehicles.
Three miles of County V, from the Portage County line to County Q in the the town of Scandinavia will be repaved at a cost of $440,000. The average daily traffic count is 203.
County K, from County KK to Kriese Road in the town of Waupaca, will be repaved. This 2.15-mile project, which was started last year, will cost $339,000 to complete this year. The average daily traffic count is 625.
A major repaving project is in the works this summer along a 4.53-mile section of County C, between State 49 and County J in the town of Harrison. The total cost is $1.33 million, and the daily traffic count is 450.
A total reconstruction project will take place on County T, from County D to Collier Road in the town of Lebanon. The three-mile project will cost $1.7 million. The average daily traffic count is 930 vehicles.
County N, from State 22 to Clark Street in the city of Manawa, will be reconstructed for a total cost of $560,000. The half-mile project includes sewer and water mains. An average of 500 vehicles travel this road daily.
2014 projects
A major construction project is planned for County B, from Euclid Aveue to the railroad tracks in Manawa. The total cost for the 0.84-mile project is budgeted at $1.3 million, with just over $1 million covered by state aid. An estimated 2,305 vehicles travel this road daily.
County T, from Collier Road to County N in the town of Lebanon, will be reconstructed. The 4.6-mile project will cost $2.48 million and serve daily traffic of 1,135 vehicles.
County F, from Lincoln Street to the city limits of Weyauwega, will be reconstructed with curb and gutter for $600,000. Located near the fairgrounds, this section has an average daily traffic count of 375 vehicles.
The County C bridge over the Little Wolf River in Harrison is slated to be replaced in 2014. The total cost is $678,000 with state aid paying for 80 percent of it. The average daily traffic count is 775.
County E, from the Waushara County line to Lind Center Road, is scheduled for paving. The total cost is estimated at $2.12 million with state and federal aid covering just over $1 million. A daily average of 2,400 vehicles travel this 6-mile stretch of road which runs through Dayton and Lind.
The last layer of blacktop will be applied to County T, from Collier Road to County D. This will complete the eastern leg of the project started in 2013 and costs $634,000. The daily traffic count is 930.
2015 projects
County T, from Collier Road to County N, will get its final layer of blacktop in 2015. This will complete the northern leg of the project started in 2013 and cost $698.000. The traffic count is 1,135.
Major reconstruction is planned for County W, from U.S. 45 to State 96 in the town of Caledonia. The two-mile project will cost $1.85 million and serve an average of 990 vehicles per day.
Two County I intersections, County Y and Paape Road in the town of Matteson, will be reconstructed for a total cost of $200,000. The traffic count is 585.
Work is planned on a County J bridge in the town of Wyoming to increase its weight limit. State aid is paying for 80 percent of the $266,000 cost. An estimated 150 vehicles cross that bridge daily.
A paving project is also planned on County F, from Weyauwega to Gills landing. The 2.15-mile project costs $350,000 and includes wider paved shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists. The traffic count is 375.
A five-mile paving project is planned for County C, from County E to State 110 in the towns of Dupont and Wyoming. The total cost is $1.1 million, and the traffic count is 775.
County D, from Northridge Drive to U.S. 45 in New London, will be repaved. The 1.23-mile project will cost nearly $320,000. The section of County D between Spurr Road and Northridge Drive has an average daily traffic count of 3,350 vehicles, while the section from Sprurr Road to U.S. 45 has a traffic count of 1,510.
Another one-mile section of County D in New London, from Beckert Road to Beacon Street, will be repaved for a cost of $181,500. The daily traffic count here is 3,800 vehicles.
The county will repave a 0.8-mile section of County G, from County H to County C in Big Falls. The total cost is $143,000, and the daily traffic count is 250 vehicles.
2016 projects
County Q, from Round Lake Road to State 54 in Farmington, is the only major reconstruction project scheduled for 2016. It calls for widening the roadway, paved shoulders and reconstructing the intersection at Golke Road.
The County Q project is budgeted for $900,000, with $700,000 coming from bonding and the remainder coming from state and federal aid. The average daily traffic count is 800 vehicles, which Steingraber said was taken in July 2005 near the Farmington Town Hall.
Other 2016 paving projects include 3.86 miles of County O in the town of Union; 0.76 miles of county II in the town of Fremont; 8.5 miles of County I near Clintonville; 3.6 miles of County B in the towns of Scandinavia and St. Lawrence; and nearly three miles of County G in the towns of Iola and Helvetia.
2017 projects
County K, from Rural Road to State 22 in Dayton, is the only reconstruction project scheduled for 2017. At this point, details about the project are still being discussed. Nearly $710,000 has been budgeted for a 2.5-mile section used by 2,250 vehicles daily.
Paving projects being planned for 2017 include eight miles of County Q from State 54 north to State 49 in Farmington and Scandinavia; eight miles of County W from Readfield to New London; a quarter-mile of County Z in rural Iola; five miles of County E in St. Lawrence; two miles of County MM in rural Iola; 5.6 miles of County K in rural Waupaca; and 3.26 miles of County O in Union.
Steingraber said the plan is not set in stone. Some projects may be rescheduled, especially after the first two years.