Dangerous Highway C Intersection Hearing Set

WAUKESHA COUNTY, WI — Transportation officials in Waukesha County are working on a plan to untangle a dangerous Waukesha County intersection, and are hosting an open house to show some of the new designs while also hoping to get public reaction to the plans.

The Waukesha County Department of Public Works will host a public information meeting on the Highway C curve at Hasslinger Drive intersection project on Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Village of Chenequa Village Hall, W31275 West Highway K. Organizers say people are encouraged to stop by between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Representatives from the Waukesha County project design team will be available to discuss the project, answer questions, and gather input and comments from the public. Exhibits will be on display for viewing. The meeting will be an open-house format with no formal presentation.

A traffic analysis conducted in 2018 stated that the sharp curve along Highway C, also known in the area as Kettle Moraine Drive, has an awkwardly-configured intersection with a residential street, a driveway and a private road.

"Drivers must react suddenly to the changing curve radii of its existing alignment," traffic analysts wrote in their report. "This rural highway intersection has among the highest collision rates along Waukesha's County Trunk Highways."

The report stated that there have been 21 crashes reported there over the past 13 years, and that all of the crashes involved northbound vehicles running off the right side Kettle Moraine Drive at the midpoint of its curve.

"All but one had occurred with wet/snow pavement and/or dark conditions," analysts wrote. "One crash had a fatality and four others had severe injuries."

According to county figures, the $1.1 million project will receive about $670,500 in federal funding. Construction is budgeted for just under $600,000, with land acquisition accounting for the second-largest cost at $365,000.