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Rebuilding Main Street

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Proposed design of the intersection of Sessions and North Main Street in Waupaca. Renderings courtesy of Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.

Revised downtown Waupaca project set to begin in 2021

By Angie Landsverk


The city of Waupaca is considering two staging scenarios for next year’s reconstruction of four blocks of Main Street.

“With two stages, you have less impact to storefronts,” Dan Penzkover said during a public informational meeting about the project.

He is a consultant project manager at Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. (SEH), the firm hired by the city to design it.

The reconstruction of Main Street, from Badger to Granite streets, is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2021.

One scenario is to close the four blocks to through traffic from that date until Oct. 1.

Penzkover said there would be no vehicle access, with cross street access remaining open.

The other is to reconstruct the street in two stages.

First would be the section from Fulton to Granite steets, with it completed by July 1, 2021.

The section from Badger to Fulton streets would follow from July 1 to Nov. 1, 2021.

They would keep the existing sidewalks as long as possible, he said.

There would be times with temporary gravel or plywood, and must be accommodations for emergency services, Penzkover said.

The two staging options were presented during the Jan. 13 informational meeting at the Waupaca Area Public Library.

Doing the project in two stages extends the construction period one month, but limits impacts, Penzkover said.

He asked those in attendance to let the city know what their preference is for the staging.

Written comments are due to the city by Jan. 27.

Comments may be emailed to Penzkover at [email protected] or to Public Works Director Justin Berrens at [email protected].

The project

The improvements include the reconstruction of the street, with replacement of the sanitary sewer and water main, as well as a new storm water system, new sidewalk, curb and gutter.

The sidewalk replacement will be a 50/50 cost share between the city and property owners.

Berrens said the cost for property owners will be at a reduced rate.

That is because the city qualified for about $1.9 million in Surface Transportation Urban Program (STP) funds for the project.

Those funds are for construction, with the state paying 80% and the city 20%, he explained.

The 50/50 split for sidewalk replacement will be after that, Berrens said.

The curb, gutter and utility replacements will be 100% of the city’s cost, he said.

Penzkover said 90% of the plan is to be completed by Feb. 1, with the final plan due to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation by May 1.

The project is to be let for bids on Nov. 10.

Since last April’s informational meeting, the city looked at the streetscape portion of the project.

Penzkover noted the city heard concerns at that meeting about the size of the bumpouts.

The State Historic Preservation Office also weighed in on the topic, and the size of the bumpouts has been reduced.

Initially, brick pavers were shown in the plan.

Pavers are more expensive and have been replaced with colored concrete, he said.

In regard to the crosswalks, Penzkover noted the painted crosswalk project that took place in the community last year and said the white lines will be painted on the crosswalks.

The streetlights will be the same as those installed when the city square’s parking was reconfigured.

Berrens told property owners to check if trees or streetlights are planned near them and let the city know if a placement blocks something, like signage.

Enhancements

Items such as benches, new trash receptacles, planters and corner street markings are considered enhancements.

A fundraising campaign or business sponsorships could go toward those items.

City Administrator Aaron Jenson said the city heard comments about the project being “down to blacktop.”

The city wanted to show that is not the case, he said.

Jenson told those in attendance to let the city know if something is missing that they previously saw in the plan.

The city renegotiated the contract for the streetscape aspect of the project.

Earlier this month, Berrens told the common council the city has “moved on” from working with RDG Planning and Design, the firm hired in May 2017 to do that work.

The contract included working to complete and acquire grant funding.

Both RDG and SEH sought several grants but were unsuccessful in acquiring any.

Grant funds were to cover amenities.

The council voted last August to renegotiate the remaining part of the design project to fit within the construction budget.

SEH is now finishing the remainder of the landscaping and administration work.

The council voted 9-0 on Jan. 7, to amend SEH’s contract for an amount not to exceed $42,400.

Ald Scott Purchatzke was absent.

“The remaining RDG budget is $104,000, but we will need $42,400 to finish the job. That will leave $61,600 in savings that will be budgeted back into the project’s contingency,” Berrens wrote in a memo to the mayor and council.

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