MONROE — For the first time in years, travelers on Wisconsin 11 will be driving on smooth pavement. Traffic will shift again in the coming days as progress continues on the overhaul of nearly 6 miles on Wisconsin 11.

Ken Plowman, senior engineering technician for Fehr Graham Engineering & Environmental said around Aug. 7 the two eastbound Wis. 11 ramps will open. 

“The exciting part is that traffic will be able to get on the new concrete,” Plowman said. “It’s been a pain with everyone driving on that rough road so it’ll be nice to get them on the new pavement.” 

The project, which began at the end of March, is progressing on time, Plowman said. It’s slated for full completion around Nov. 25, which is within a few days of the original timeline. It includes an overhaul of deteriorating concrete along Wis. 11, but includes the Wis. 81, Wis. 69 and Wis. 59 interchange ramps. 

The furthest west interchange ramps at County N/6th Avenue West will remain open. 

However, all four north/south ramps on Wis. 81 will close, including the bridge. The eastbound ramps will be open for a short time and then will be closed while they are working on the bridge.

On the 69 interchange toward Monticello, all four ramps will be open in the beginning but the two westbound ramps will close at some point as progress continues, Plowman said. 

Work in this stage is expected to last until around Oct. 8, which is the planned date for the start of Stage 3B. 

Wis. 59 has been open for the last month. The two westbound ramps will now be closed on the north side of Wis. 11 to tear them out for new concrete. The eastbound lanes will remain open.

Traffic will be able to take right turns only both into and out of County KK, but will not be able to turn left onto KK or turn left onto Wis. 11. 

Badger State Trail continues to be closed and is detoured to 18th Ave. and to County DR to get back on. 

He said they have few hiccups regarding the project — although they do wish drivers would pay more attention to the 45 mph sign. 

“As long as the weather holds out, we should be completing it all by late November,” Plowman said. “We got pretty lucky. Some projects are behind with the cold spring and rain but our old road base under the concrete was in pretty good shape. Some of it was sitting on a limestone shelf so we didn’t have as much mud.”

Plowman noted that the dates are estimates and can be adjusted depending on work progress and weather.