Bad Weather Hindering Waukesha West Bypass Project

WAUKESHA, WI — It may still be fall, but the winter weather has interrupted the plans of many this year, including those of the people who are trying to put the finishing touches of the Waukesha West Bypass.

At this point, transportation officials are trying to make sense of things, including which work will be done yet this year, and what will be pushed to 2020.

"We know for certain that any of the remaining landscape work will be pushed into 2020. We do not have a 100 percent grasp on what, if any, road work gets pushed back," Wisconsin Department of Transportation spokesperson Michael Pyritz told Patch Monday. "The key point is the box culvert just south of Madison. The timing on the completion of that work will dictate what adjustments we need to make. The super rainy September really impacted the work."

When it's done, the approximately $50 million Waukesha West Bypass project will connect I-94 with Highway 59, effectively circumnavigating Waukesha to the west.

According to a Journal Sentinel report this week, the bypass is taking shape: "the driving-surface pavement is largely complete when viewed from two major intersections: at Sunset Drive, which is again open to traffic, and at Highway X, where the westbound portion of the bypass begins its northward bend," reporter Jim Riccioli wrote.

Contractors began work in the spring of 2019 on the project's latest phase. Here's what they set out to accomplish this year:

In 2019, crews will be working on Phase 2 of the West Waukesha Bypass by focusing on improvements from WIS 59 to US 18. The realignment of Merrill Hills Road is currently underway.

Improvements being made during Phase 2:

• Construct a 4-lane divided highway
• Upgrade intersections with right and left turn lanes
• Install 4 traffic signals at Madison Street, Sunset Drive, WIS 59, and County X
• Extend the 10-foot asphalt shared-use path south along the east side of the roadway to Sunset Drive
• Extend the 5-foot sidewalk south along the west side of the roadway to Kame Terrace
• Construct a new at-grade crossing with the railroad which will include signals and gates
• Construct a pedestrian underpass at the Glacial Drumlin Trail with connections to the shared-use path adjacent to the bypass