Construction On US 63 Project In City Of Spooner To Start This Month

SPOONER, Wis. -- To invest in Wisconsin’s transportation system, Gov. Tony Evers has signed an $8.2 million contract with prime contractor A-1 Excavating of Bloomer for the reconstruction of US 63 (River Street) from Greenwood Avenue to Poplar Street in the Washburn County city of Spooner. Construction is scheduled to start Monday, March 28.

This segment of US 63 is aging, with deteriorated pavement, sanitary sewer and water main, and has inadequate roadway lighting.

In addition, it has a higher-than-average crash rate along the four-lane facility, including at the signalized intersection with WIS 70 (Maple Street), resulting in a decrease in the road's level of service.

To address these, WisDOT, in coordination and cooperation with the city of Spooner and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will:

• Reconstruct US 63 from WIS 70 to Poplar Street with new pavement, sidewalk, curb and gutter.
• Reconstruct the US 63/WIS 70 intersection.
• Rehabilitate US 63 from Greenwood Avenue to WIS 70 by milling the existing asphalt and overlaying the road with new asphalt.
• Convert US 63 from Greenwood Avenue to Poplar Street to a three-lane road, with one lane for traffic in each direction and a two-way left-turn lane in the center to improve safety and reduce overall corridor travel times.
• Install new sanitary and storm sewer and water main.
• Improve pedestrian access to meet current Americans With Disabilities Act standards at intersections.
• Install new street lighting, pavement marking and signing.

During construction:

• The signalized intersection of US 63 and WIS 70 will be closed in March, April and May.
  • Traffic will be detoured via WIS 35, WIS 48 and US 53.
  • The intersection is expected to be reopened the week before Memorial Day weekend.
• US 63 will be closed north of WIS 70 to through traffic during construction.
  • Traffic will be detoured via WIS 70 and US 53.
  • While the highway will be detoured, portions of the project will be accessible to local traffic when not under construction as much as feasible.
• Efforts will be made to ensure that alleys and cross streets will be kept open as much as feasible.

Construction is scheduled for completion in November. Information regarding this project and others in the Northwest Region can be found here.