By Robert Cloud
County officials and contractors held a ribbon cutting Thursday, Nov. 7, at the new Waupaca County highway facility.
The main building has about 109,000 square feet.
It includes space for a public lobby, administrative offices, operations and staff offices, training and conference rooms, a sign shop, a drive-thru wash bay, a metal fabrication shop, 10 repair bays and a 38,000-square-foot garage.
The site also has buildings for cold storage, salt and sand storage, as well as a fueling station and a truck scale.
Estimated to cost $27.6 million, Highway Commissioner Casey Beyersdorf said the facility was completed under budget, even with a loading dock added to the project.
The facility houses 39 employees.
Beyersdorf said the facility’s geographical location makes it more efficient because the snowplows have easy access to U.S. Highway 10 and State Highways 22 and 54.
The highway department’s former location was located in the city of Waupaca, and county trucks had to drive farther before they could plow the highways and county roads.
“The environment of our old 1936 facility has created the foundation that has brought many of us here today,” Beyersdorf said in a speech prior to the ribbon cutting.
“That old facility’s environment may have become outdated; however, many memories will continue on along with the great traditions of the Waupaca County Highway Department.”
Beyersdorf said the new facility is more welcoming to visitors, safer and more efficient for employees and a tool for achieving the department’s mission statement.
“The Waupaca County Highway System will be the premier highway system in Wisconsin, boasting roadways of the highest quality that provide the safest transportation for current and future generations,” Beyersdorf said, reading the mission statement. “The Waupaca County Highway Department will be a transportation leader fueled by a highly trained collaborative, energetic and dependable team totally dedicated to providing exceptional public safety and service. The team will be empowered by the use of modern methods and technology, and public support that is earned by doing things right and doing the right things.”
Bray Architects designed the facility, and Miron Construction Co. was the general contractor.