The section of this once-rural twolane roadway, from Racine Avenue to Moorland Road through Muskego, is now a bustling four-lane roadway – fresh with a new identity for the City shown through aesthetic roadway elements that light up the corridor day and night. The County’ s goals also were met: less congestion for increasing levels of traffic and improved safety from reconfigured intersections, traffic signals, and a strengthened pavement structure.
Because of available federal funding the project was split into two. Phase 1 was 100 % County- and City-funded; Phase 2 was split between federal and City / County funding and involved extensive coordination with WisDOT.
“ The project was executed almost without fault,” said Gary Evans, manager of Waukesha County’ s Highway Engineering Division.
“ We didn’ t have any issues during construction, and everything was done within the timeframes we set, so ultimately the project was a great success.”
The reinvigorated roadway comes at a perfect time for Muskego, a Milwaukee suburb of about 24,400 people that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014 and was yearning for a chance to redefine its identity.
HELPING TO BRAND‘ OUR DOWNTOWN’
“ It’ s our downtown. It’ s our business district. It’ s our main street into Muskego,” said David Simpson, Muskego’ s city engineer.“ We had been hoping for a long time to get that road reconstructed.”
Ayres Associates was the prime design consultant for the roadway reconstruction, utility upgrades, and associated improvements under a contract with the Waukesha County Department of Public Works. Engineering consultant GRAEF – under a separate contract with the City – designed the streetscape, landscape, and decorative lighting improvements, which added the finishing touches to Janesville Road.
Because the project involved many interested parties, collaboration was were critical for the project’ s success.
“ The roles for each consultant were very definitive,” said Kristine Anderson, Ayres Associates’ project manager,“ and I think that’ s what made it so successful, because it was such a highly collaborative project.”
Anderson said she’ s pleased with the project’ s outcome.“ Driving it is like a night-and-day difference,” she said.“ The traffic flows pretty well,
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