Sister Bay Optimistic about Construction

The timeline for Sister Bay’s yearlong construction project is on track. Construction throughout downtown Sister Bay will begin shortly after the 4th of July and last through the following May. At an informational meeting held at the Sister Bay Village Hall on May 26, the Department of Transportation (DOT) presented their plans to the public.

“We really tried to work hard within the concept of tourism,” said Jeremy Ashauer, project manager with the DOT for the reconstruction. “Obviously we can’t do construction in the winter so we really had to phase this project to get it all in one season, which was really important to the village as well.”

The reconstruction will take place from July through October before shutting down for the winter. Depending on weather, it will pick up again in the spring to be completed by June 2016.

The DOT and Village of Sister Bay worked together to coordinate the best ways to navigate through the season’s biggest weekends. Between Pumpkin Patch Festival and Fall Fest, the DOT will lay temporary asphalt and stop all construction to allow for mobility through the area.

Following the construction in the winter of 2013-14, many residents and visitors complained about strange detours and poor signage throughout the village. Sister Bay and the DOT do not plan on repeating that lack of organization.

“I guess it’s good on our end because the village took a little more heat to tell us what to do and what not to do,” said Ashauer, who was not involved with the construction two years ago.

The DOT will use their own signage for labeling detours and road closures but most of the business signage is up to the village and individual business owners. Yet there are some restrictions on the type of signage a business may use.

“If, for some reason, you have something that is inside the temporary limited easement,” said Village Administrator Zeke Jackson, “DOT will work with you to get that removed.”

The temporary limited easement is the right of way granted to the DOT and the contractor during their work. Crews have authority within this easement for the duration of construction.

Ashauer added that the contractor will most likely remove signage that interferes with their work and set it on the side of the road. The DOT also has a permitting process for signs that are used to direct people through the village.

To prevent every business from applying for their own signage, the village will put up a large board downtown, visible from the road. The sign will include all businesses that are still open after Nov. 1 while the southbound lane through downtown is closed.

Although the project is confidently slated to begin this July, the contractor decides many of the specifics for the upcoming year.

The DOT put certain restrictions in place to help with tourism such as requiring the work to begin at 7 am instead of the usual 6 am start time. During reconstruction between Mill Road and Scandia Road this fall, the contractor is also required to only close the single block they are working on instead of the entire section of road planned for that stage.

Next month, the village will host another information meeting with the contractor, who they expect will provide more information on the timeline for construction and closures.

“It’s a chance to get introduced and ask any questions from the people who are going to be here physically every day,” said Ashauer.

The village will also host public meetings every two weeks during construction while interest lasts. In past projects Ashauer has found high attendance toward the beginning of the project until business owners are “in tune.”

Residents, business owners and visitors can get more information about the construction by visiting projects.511wi.gov/wis42 or the Sister Bay Highway Construction 2015-2016 Facebook page.