Menomonie Street project to get more discussion Monday

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

Long-awaited improvements to Menomonie Street, near the public safety building, are finished.

According to Alderman Clayton Stevens, who broached the subject at the Monday, July 25 meeting at city hall, the discussion will continue at the Monday, Aug. 8 Committee of the Whole (COTW) meeting.

He said residents wanted a progress update. So, City Clerk Shauna Arco scheduled it as an agenda item for Monday night’s meeting.

Public Works Director Brent Anderson said at that time curb and gutter work had been completed. Most of the hot mix blacktop had been applied the week before.

Roadway striping had not been done at that point.

“We have had some really hot days, so before we put down the pavement markings, we’re letting the blacktop try to cure up a little bit,” he said.

The speed limit will be 25 mph.

He said one sidewalk panel remained to be installed. Also, there is some touch-up work needing to be done before the project is finished.

Despite that progress report, Alderman Stevens said residents “still may want to say something.”

Alderman Ron Brooks, a retired state trooper, continued to be mindful of any safety issues that might be tied to the improvement. He asked how close vehicles would be able to park to the Menomonie Street intersection.

“I know it can’t be within 50 feet of Main Street,” Brooks said. “I think it’s going to be pretty close there, on both sides.”

It would be 20 feet on the public safety building side, Anderson said.

Brooks questioned whether there would be enough room “for a good-sized truck to make a turn.”

Anderson replied that if he was referring to a semi-tractor, such a truck “will have to wait until there is no traffic.”

“We’ll have to talk more about this at the next meeting,” Brooks said.

Discussion then turned to the storm that hit the city on July 23 that produced two to five inches of rain in a two hour period.

In response to Alderman Mark Sanderson’s question about flash-flooding, director Anderson said the storm sewer is designed to accommodate a 10-year storm event.

“Flash-flooding conditions occurred,” he said. “It [the system] acts like a bathtub and it will back up,” Anderson said.

He added that it would be “way too cost prohibitive to design a storm system for any and all storms, to put that much infrastructure into the ground.”

He said rainfall stopped about 11 a.m. with the heaviest rain quitting about 7:30 a.m.