Engineering Supervisor, City of Monroe

During the week of Oct. 17, Rock Road Companies completed placing topsoil in all restoration areas followed behind by Voegeli Landscaping with final grading of the topsoil, placement of seed, and installation of erosion mat, as well as installation of various small retaining walls. The remaining crosswalks were stamped from 18th Avenue to 20th Avenue with three coats of color applied on all crosswalks by Herbig Blacktop. The painting of the crosswalks has not been completed due to the lower temperatures during the day and threats of rain. The ambient air temperature is required to be at least 45 degrees and rising prior to any painting of the crosswalks. The painting of the epoxy pavement markings were completed, by Guidelines, from Wisconsin 69 to 20th Avenue, and Parisi Construction placed the last of the remaining 100 feet of concrete sidewalk by 8th Avenue.

Next week, Herbig Blacktop is scheduled to complete the installation of the colored and stamped asphaltic crosswalks by painting three coats of white epoxy along the border of all of the crosswalks. Rock Road Companies and Voegeli Landscaping will continue with miscellaneous small site restoration items throughout the project, followed by handrail fabrication and installation by Carter Machine and Welding. The corridor may officially be opened by mid-week if weather permits the completion of the crosswalk painting.

Once the 8th and 9th Street corridor is officially opened, all of the detour route signage will be removed and the temporary one way streets of 10th and 11th Street from Wisconsin 69 to 13th Avenue will return to previous two-way traffic. Please be cautious along the side streets entering 10th or 11th Street as to this change and the addition of traffic from the opposite direction.

With winter weather approaching and the relatively young age of the concrete sidewalks and driveways (less than 90 days of cure time), we ask that all property owners use salt sparingly to protect the sidewalks from adverse effects of the salt. As with the downtown square project, we do have a limited supply of 50-pound bags of magnesium chloride available for $5 per bag. Magnesium chloride is a little gentler on the new concrete, but still needs to be used cautiously, especially if the concrete has less than 30 days of cure time. Please contact the Engineering Department or Street Department if you are a resident within the 8th/9th Street construction project and are interested in this product. Thank you to all of the businesses and property owners along the construction corridor and detour route for your patience, questions, comments, and concerns during this long construction season. Please feel free to call the engineering department at 329-2532 if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.