APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The intersection of Northland and Richmond, in Appleton, is about to shut down and that could leave hundreds of drivers looking for detours every day.
The closure will begin on the 19th. It’s scheduled to last until September 1st.
In about 75 days there will no longer be an average intersection at the corner of Richmond and Northland, OO and 47 in Appleton.
The Wisconsin DOT is putting in a multi-lane roundabout, which engineers say will make the area safer and less congested in the long run.
But in the short run there are concerns for those who need to get around here.
It’s going to be a tough summer for businesses near the intersection of Richmond and Northland in Appleton.
Avery McGuire with Merlin’s 2000 Miles, tells WLUK.
“Most of our customers are re-occurring customers, but we’ll see how it affects the person that drives by and thinks, ‘oh, I need to stop!’”
Dozens of business owners came to a meeting with the DOT Tuesday.
The DOT’s project manager Tim Rank explained the first thing people need to know before the closure on June 19th is how to get around it.
“On Highway 41 to Ballard for OO’s detour. The traffic on 47 will be detoured to Wisconsin, to Ballard and around” There will be access to all businesses during construction, but Rank is asking those businesses to inform their customers.
“They can apply for some temporary signage in different areas to notify the public of different routes to get to them.”
And, it’s not just businesses that need to plan ahead.
First responders like the Grand Chute Fire Department need to make it their top priority. In their work, every second on the road counts.
“We do have pockets of property that surround the project area. So we wanna see how it’s gonna directly affect our response times,” explained Assistant Chief Mike DeBruler.
It’s the department’s goal to get to any call within four minutes of that call coming in. So they need to plan new routes far in advance of the intersection closing down.
“Projects as significant as this, where it closes a major, major intersection, we just want to be able to have a heads up and be able to plan accordingly.”
The Grand Chute and Appleton Fire Departments will be helping each other out through the construction period.
The DOT will hold monthly meetings on the project, to keep area businesses and residents up to speed.
