Sister Bay Highway Still Being Discussed

As Sister Bay prepares to reconstruct its downtown roads and walkways, the village will face road closures and construction maintenance that will affect those passing through. The planned construction will take place between May 2015 and May 2016 on Hwy. 42 between Country Walk Drive and Scandia Road.

According to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) website, the project will consist of full reconstruction of the roadway including sidewalk, curb and gutter additions; replacement of the storm sewer; intersection improvements; corrections of vertical curves and pavement upgrades.

Burying the utility lines in Sister Bay began on Feb. 2 and is expected to be completed by the end of May. During the year of construction, the Bay Shore Drive Reconstruction Oversight Committee approved putting up temporary street lighting to compensate for the lighting taken down by the DOT. The temporary lighting will be in the same location as the current streetlights, but placed 5 to 6 feet further off the road. The lighting will cost the village “no more than $7,000” according to the approved motion.

The planned road construction is as follows:

• July 6 – Sept. 4:  Construction on the Hwy. 57 hill up to its intersection with Hwy. 42.

• Sept. 8 – Oct. 9:  Construction on the Hwy. 42 hill between Country Walk Drive and Hwy. 57. Construction also begins on Hwy. 42 between Mill Road and Scandia Road.

• Oct. 19 – May 27, 2016:  Closures on Hwy. 42 between Country Walk Drive and Scandia Road, including intersections at Country Walk and Scandia.

Detours were drawn out at the Feb. 12 meeting of the Reconstruction Oversight Committee but are yet to be official. The Door County Board, DOT and Sister Bay Village Board must all discuss the planned detours before they can be finalized.

“None of us will know what exactly it’s going to be until a few weeks before we hit a particular stage,” said Village Administrator Zeke Jackson. “It’s all based on production rates.”

Due to a rock outcropping throughout the area, contractors may have a hard time cutting their route, causing a slower production rate. A slower production rate may influence the detours the village plans to provide.

“We would like to use Maple, Woodcrest and Scandia roads… We want to keep people as close to the village as we can,” said Jackson.

Yet state highway requirements will force some larger commercial vehicles to be rerouted along Old Stage Road to avoid damage to the smaller roads close to the downtown area. There will be one official detour and one local detour for residents and visitors to navigate closer to the village center.

Construction will take place during weekdays, with Hwy. 42 being opened to both lanes of traffic on the weekends.

Jackson encourages those in the area to follow along on the Facebook page “Sister Bay Highway Construction 2015-2016” for immediate updates.