The city has an ambitious project ahead of it.
Sections of 8th and 9th streets will be reconstructed from Wisconsin 69 to 20th Avenue, possibly starting in "early, early spring," according to Mayor Ron Marsh in December.
The project is not going to be any of the following: Cheap or convenient.
The project will cost Monroe taxpayers 20 percent of an estimated $4.5 million for road work, and $425,000 - based on June 2009 figures - for replacing sections of sewer and water lines. Many businesses and homes will be interfered with, and the project will need to be finished in time for Cheese Days, Sept. 17-19.
What the project will be is necessary, and the Common Council deserves credit for taking the opportunity to seize a state grant cover a significant amount of the project's cost.
Waiting any longer or putting off a project that will replace water and sewer infrastructure that is failing would likely only become more expensive as time goes on.
"A lot of the street infrastructure (water and sewer lines) is completely collapsing, otherwise the street work wouldn't be happening," said Mark Coplien, member of the Public Works board, in a Times article Tuesday.
Coplien is correct in connecting the project to replacing the sewer and water lines. If the state of Wisconsin is willing to pick up 80 percent of a $4.5 million tab to replace a street that also needs to be reworked, it would be foolish not to take advantage.
It is not the city's fault the project could not have been done years ago, according to Marsh.
Planning for the project began in April 2003, at a projected cost of $2.5 million for the street reconstruction, but state regulations regarding a historical site derailed the plan. The city should not be to blame for the problem of the state.
The intensity of the actions that were taken to remedy the situation with the state is not known. But, the situation was resolved, eventually, to the detriment of Monroe taxpayers, because the project will cost $2 million more.
Regardless, the fault lies in the slow time it takes to meet state regulations.
Now that the needed project is poised to begin the city must work with businesses and homeowners to clarify their rights and responsibilities regarding the project, like how to maintain access to properties along the project right of way during construction.
The pain associated with the cost of the project will be significant, as will the traffic and neighborhood disruption, but waiting or putting it off would only cost the city more in the long run.
Sections of 8th and 9th streets will be reconstructed from Wisconsin 69 to 20th Avenue, possibly starting in "early, early spring," according to Mayor Ron Marsh in December.
The project is not going to be any of the following: Cheap or convenient.
The project will cost Monroe taxpayers 20 percent of an estimated $4.5 million for road work, and $425,000 - based on June 2009 figures - for replacing sections of sewer and water lines. Many businesses and homes will be interfered with, and the project will need to be finished in time for Cheese Days, Sept. 17-19.
What the project will be is necessary, and the Common Council deserves credit for taking the opportunity to seize a state grant cover a significant amount of the project's cost.
Waiting any longer or putting off a project that will replace water and sewer infrastructure that is failing would likely only become more expensive as time goes on.
"A lot of the street infrastructure (water and sewer lines) is completely collapsing, otherwise the street work wouldn't be happening," said Mark Coplien, member of the Public Works board, in a Times article Tuesday.
Coplien is correct in connecting the project to replacing the sewer and water lines. If the state of Wisconsin is willing to pick up 80 percent of a $4.5 million tab to replace a street that also needs to be reworked, it would be foolish not to take advantage.
It is not the city's fault the project could not have been done years ago, according to Marsh.
Planning for the project began in April 2003, at a projected cost of $2.5 million for the street reconstruction, but state regulations regarding a historical site derailed the plan. The city should not be to blame for the problem of the state.
The intensity of the actions that were taken to remedy the situation with the state is not known. But, the situation was resolved, eventually, to the detriment of Monroe taxpayers, because the project will cost $2 million more.
Regardless, the fault lies in the slow time it takes to meet state regulations.
Now that the needed project is poised to begin the city must work with businesses and homeowners to clarify their rights and responsibilities regarding the project, like how to maintain access to properties along the project right of way during construction.
The pain associated with the cost of the project will be significant, as will the traffic and neighborhood disruption, but waiting or putting it off would only cost the city more in the long run.
