City of Marshfield Engineer Updates on Various Projects
With so many projects taking place in the city this past summer, FOCUS sat down with City of Marshfield Engineer Tom Turchi to get the status on some of the big ones:
Street Construction
City staff were busy this spring-fall with various road construction projects. Major completed projects include:
- Maple from Doege to Arnold, which opened last Friday, October 27
- 4th Street and Peach Avenue intersection
- Wood Avenue
- McMillan Street (which WE Energies is currently finishing up work on, and is expected to be fully complete within a week)
“It was a busy construction season and we try to get our survey work done here in the fall, but we are a little behind schedule due to starting two major projects in September that are taking a lot of time from staff,” said Turchi.
These two projects are…
Wenzel Family Plaza
Boson Construction broke ground for the plaza in August, with construction slated to finish in the spring (2018). A crew will continue to work on aspects of the project until frost inhibits progress. READ MORE HERE
“They are going to work as much as they can yet this year until the ground freezes,” said Turchi.
So far, the majority of the exterior concrete work has been completed, as well as parking off of the alley. The parking area that was added along Chestnut Avenue has also now been completed, and is expected to open within a week for public use. All columns have been completed. Boson has begun laying brick in areas including the stage and arbor, and is concentrating efforts on the stage area.
“They are hopefully going to be pouring the stage floor this week or early next week, which will then basically wrap up a good portion of the stage construction itself,” said Turchi. “Planned brick work on columns will be started yet this year, as well as brickwork left to be done on the stage.”
Challenges with electric utility are also currently being addressed, but the sidewalk on Chestnut between Second and Third Streets will remain closed throughout the winter until those are resolved.
“These won’t be completed by the time snow flies,” said Turchi. “Problem solving is ongoing for sidewalk issues, including the fiber optics along Chestnut Avenue.”
Throughout the winter, work could be continued on beams for the stage and arbor, weather-dependent. Otherwise, construction will resume in the spring, as soon as the frost is gone.
“I think our office is learning a lot with dealing with these structures, which is kind of a fun process,” said Turchi. “It’s going as good as it can be. There are always issues that come up when working on an old site. We did find brick and footings from an old building on Chestnut and Second, which we had to remove to get to a solid foundation. There are things that can throw you for a little bit of a loop, but the project is moving along as well as it can.”
Wildwood-McMillan Connector Trail
Though a long time in the works, construction on the trail officially started in early September, with crews beginning at 14th Street and working north before circling back and finishing up work on the portion in Wildwood Park. Work is now complete for the year, and will resume in the spring.
“The trail is 100% complete, paved with curb ramps in place from Wildwood up to 7th Street,” said Turchi. “There are just some minor things like signs and painting that haven’t been completed, which will be done with the rest of the project next year.”
Aside from some minor contamination on the old railroad corridor which had to be removed and brought to a registered landfill, the project has gone smoothly.
“I think that’s going fairly well. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve received a lot of good feedback from people looking forward to having this trail completed,” said Turchi.
Though the completed portion of the trail is not closed to traffic, it will not be plowed this winter. Additionally, there are no stop signs or navigational signs on the trail, so it is not officially opened.
There isn’t a dull moment in the City’s Public Works department. With many projects completed throughout the year, winter months are traditionally dedicated to designing and bidding.
“It’s a continual loop with really no down time, said Turchi.
