Dept. of Transportation: Highway 57 Rock Piles Will Remain

Historic rock piles along Highway 57 north of Baileys Harbor will not be taken down as part of a highway resurfacing project this year, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced. Photo by Len Villano.

Mark Kantola, communication director for the Northeast region of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, told the Pulse on March 14 that the department will not remove historic rock piles during resurfacing work on Hwy. 57 north of Baileys Harbor later this year.

Kantola said department officials met separately with Liberty Grove Town Administrator Bud Kalms and Joanne Klussendorf, director of the Weiss Earth Science Museum at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley in Menasha, who had expressed concern that the DOT had not consulted geologists about the historic significance of the rocks.

“After talking with everybody and taking public comment into consideration, we decided not to remove those rocks,” Kantola said. “We’ll work around them.” He added that will bring the cost of the project down by $15,000.