Cold Weather Stalls Sister Bay Construction

Most Decembers in Sister Bay have average lows around 19 degrees. This December has seen much colder weather, with temperatures dipping below zero for days in a row.

That cold has delayed construction in downtown Sister Bay, according to Tammy Kuehlmann, project manager for Donahue & Associates engineering firm.

“Originally we thought this was what the contractor was going to do, be out there in December, then take off January and February and come back,” she said. “It’s just when they provide a more aggressive schedule it’s easy for everyone to get excited that we’re not going to see them after Christmastime, then unfortunately we had a really cold dose of reality of construction in Wisconsin in the winter.”

Photo by Jennie Bexell, taken Dec. 6, 2013.

The project is part of the village’s efforts to update its sewer and water pipes downtown in preparation for the Department of Transportation’s work scheduled for fall, 2015.

Dorner Inc., the Luxemburg construction company chosen to do the project, had expected to be done with the work before Dec. 25. Instead, crews will spend the next week patching up the sidewalks and roads with gravel, testing pipes and moving equipment.

“When it’s zero, or close to zero, it’s near to impossible to work, especially when you’re doing water mains,” Kuehlmann said. “The frost is much deeper in the ground than it normally would be… This is weather that’s more typical of January and February, not December.”

Dorner crews will return in spring to finish the work, which they’re contracted to have finished before the 2014 Memorial Day weekend.

More information on graveled areas and the placement of orange barrels will be available after the Department of Transportation reviews the plans.