Posted October 6, 2021
Construction on State Highway 29 from River Falls to Prescott is on schedule for completion in mid-November.
Since May, detours and delays have become commonplace for drivers traveling south of River Falls.
Highway 29 from Cemetery Road to County Road F has been under construction for five months as part of a large undertaking by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). According to WisconsinDOT.gov, the project aims to remove and replace all existing pavement, excavate soils of substandard quality, improve three nearby intersections and make various other enhancements including new guardrails and rumble strips.
Monarch Paving Co. of Amery is the prime contractor and product supplier for the project.
David Koepp is WisDOT’s Northwest Region project supervisor. He said the project has been progressing as expected and is set to meet its currently scheduled completion window of mid-November. The project was originally set to wrap up in late September before being delayed to October, but further setbacks are not expected barring any unforeseen weather events or material shortages, Koepp said.
According to Koepp, construction along Highway 29 is slightly over its estimated budget of $12 million, a result of unexpectedly poor soil conditions found underneath the original concrete pavement. Additional excavation was required in order to manage the low-grade soil, Koepp said.
Until November, drivers should continue to expect slight delays when traveling south of River Falls via Highway 29. Currently, most traffic is diverted along Cemetery Road and through the nearby residential street of Greenwood Valley Drive.
For more information, including up-to-date information on traffic delays, visit the project’s website, projects.511wi.gov/wis29pierce.
The article may be found online at https://uwrfjournalism.org/2021/10/highway-29-work/.