Tag Archives: Pennsylvania Avenue

June 25, 2012 · 10:48 pm

Patience, Please: Nicholson/Pennsylvania Widening Project Begins Tuesday

Be sure to post in the poll on the right side of this page!

The long-discussed Pennsylvania/Nicholson Avenue widening is now underway … and it won’t be done until early October.

In the meantime, your patience is appreciated.

Learn more in this letter shared by the city and in these notes shared by the project’s engineer.

Some key points:

  • The road officially closes Tuesday, and it will be closed to through traffic for the entire length of the project.
  • Police will enforce the through-traffic closure, so be advised.
  • Howell Avenue will be the official posted detour, but there are obviously other options, especially for local traffic. This includes 17th Avenue/Parkway Drive, which was the subject of a repaving project completed over the weekend.

The contact for construction-related information is Bret Swenson, project leader for Community Engineering & Building Services. He can be reached at 414-313-5940. South Milwaukee City Engineer Kyle Vandercar can answer questions about project design, and you can reach him at 762-2222.

Of course, you can also let me know of an issues as well.

Safe travels!

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June 20, 2012 · 5:03 pm

Parkway Drive/17th Avenue Update: Final Paving This Week

Here is the latest update from the city engineer on the Parkway Drive/17th Avenue work.

The big news: The final surface asphalt will be laid late Wednesday and Thursday nights, so the project will be done in time to accomodate spillover traffic from Pennsylvania/Nicholson, which closes Tuesday for upwards of three months to accomodate the widening project.

Of course, please be patient during this work and consider alternate routes. I’ll keep you posted.

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April 29, 2012 · 2:40 pm

Construction Update: 17th Avenue/Parkway Drive

The 17th Avenue and Parkway Drive construction project is nearing the home stretch.

Check out a letter updating area residents here. From it:

  • The project actually began in December and continued during the warm weather in March.
  • Spot sidewalk work was the priority this past week.
  • The storm and sanitary sewer upgrades should be complete by May 11.
  • Pavement rehabilitation work is expected to be substantially complete by June 1. Additional driveway approach work can also be done at a cost to homeowners.

I’ll keep you posted on this project in coming weeks.

Don’t forget that this is just the first of two major Fourth District road projects this summer. The Pennsylvania/Nicholson Avenue widening project is expected to begin in July and continue into September.

Your patience is appreciated as the city continues to make necessary and overdue investments in its infrastructure.

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November 5, 2009 · 11:29 pm

The Road to College Avenue and Airport Runway Improvements

If you’ve driven College Avenue west of Pennsylvania in the past month or so, you’ve seen the odd looping configuration of the road as you approach the north-south runway at Mitchell International.

Well, get used to it … and then get ready for a detour starting next May.

The road project is part of the Mitchell International runway safety area improvement project, a multi-year effort that will bring the safety areas for each of the airport’s two main runways into compliance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

It’s a worthy undertaking.

Thousand-foot extensions will be added to the east-west and north-south runways. The north-south project affects College, and South Milwaukee and 4th District commuters.

Two main improvements are planned. 

First, a 640-foot-long tunnel will be constructed on College so that the runway safety area can span the road without interfering with traffic. Second, College will be expanded to four lanes from Pennsylvania to Howell Avenue.

The project includes multiple phases. Here’s the plan:

  • The current configuration, in which traffic is being sent on that looping bypass road to allow for construction of the tunnel, will remain into May of 2010.
  • From next May to December of next year, College will close completely to allow for the widening and tunnel construction. Traffic will be detoured around the airport.
  • From December 2010 until sometime in 2011 — the mailing I received does not specify when — traffic will again be routed on the looping bypass road until  the tunnel is completed.

In other words, have an alternate route in mind for the next 18 months or so.

You can learn more about the project here. And click here to learn how the runway projects will impact airport noise levels.

Also, check out this blog post to learn more about the College Avenue bridge at Interstate 94. It’s reopening this weekend.

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