APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Pack your patience….and maybe some aspirin.
A two year construction project is set to start Monday in Appleton and it will lead to closures on one of the city’s busiest streets.
The city will be doing a complete re-construction on Oneida Street.
Appleton’s communications director Chad Doran spoke to WLUK. “Essentially we’re going to completely tear up and rebuild the road from the Skyline Bridge all the way, basically all the way to Lake Winnebago”
Construction is set to start Monday, a little behind when the city had originally planned. Doran says the complete new schedule is still being hammered out.
“We thought we had a schedule. We had some setbacks with some of the contractors”
Through the project, different parts of the street will be closed at different times.
According to Doran access will stay open to all local businesses and St. Elizabeth Hospital.
“But people might need to take an alternate route to get to that business”
But Doran says the best bet is alter your travel plans to avoid the area altogether.
“If you’re really just trying to commute from the south to the north, find a different route”
The city is recommending Memorial Drive as the main detour during construction and city leaders say now is a good time to start planning your routes for getting to downtown Appleton.
Appleton Police Sergeant Dave Lund has some advice.
“Exercise restraint. Be calm, be cool. You’re going to experience more traffic”
Doran said it will be a tough two years for drivers and businesses, but he said the end result will be a much smoother ride.
“The road’s rough. We know it’s rough. There are a lot of potholes and a lot of rough spots and it’s just time for it to be replaced”
The entire project will cost $8 million. Appleton will be paying for $5 million, and the state will fund the rest as part of the 441 expansion project.
