Engineering Supervisor, City of Monroe

During the week of Oct. 10, Rock Road Companies completed the placement of the final lift of asphalt pavement with the paving of all of the intersections into the mainline of 9th Street, which was paved the previous Friday and Saturday. They placed approximately 3,400 tons of asphalt for the final lift of pavement. They also paved the asphalt parking lots and driveways that were disturbed during construction.

Rock Road Companies also completed placing topsoil between the curb and sidewalk and behind the sidewalk from 12th Avenue to 20th Avenue. Voegeli Landscaping followed behind with final grading of the topsoil followed by seeding and installation of erosion mat to 20th Avenue. The electrical contractor, Westphal and Company Inc., completed the installation of the traffic signals with the programing of the traffic controllers and testing of the signals before being switched online. The colored and stamped asphaltic crosswalks were installed up to 17th Avenue with the first of three coats of color applied by Herbig Blacktop. The painting of the epoxy pavement markings were started, by Guidelines, from Wisconsin 69 to 20th Avenue.

Next week, Herbig Blacktop and Guidelines are scheduled to complete the installation of the colored and stamped asphaltic crosswalks and the remainder of the pavement markings. Rock Road Companies and Voegeli Landscaping will continue with miscellaneous site restoration throughout the project with final seeding, installation of erosion mat, handrail fabrication by Carter Machine and Welding, and construction of small retaining walls. If weather permits the completion of these items, the road may official be opened by the end of the week.

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 garage if you are a resident of 9th Street and interested in this product.

All businesses are open during construction and ready for your patronage. The roadway may appear to be open for continual traffic, but be aware of the possible hazards of a closed road with construction traffic and for the safety of the workers as they work towards completion of the project. Please feel free to call the engineering department at (608) 329-2532 if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.