Culvert replacements begin
Those traveling between Cadott and Cornell, on State Hwy. 27, will have to plan their route accordingly, from now until this fall. A $1.5 million project will replace four structurally deficient culverts over Seth Creek, Lehman Creek, an unnamed stream and Clark Creek, with box culverts for an increased structural capacity.
Work could possibly begin June 1, but closures will not go in effect until June 8, if everything proceeds on schedule.
“With these four culvert replacements, we are going to do them one at a time,” said Justin Shavlik, consultant project engineer. “There will not be two closures at the same time, just to kind of facilitate better traffic movement.”
The first culvert replacement will begin at Lehman Creek, with each phase slated for three weeks between the start and completion. Seth Creek will follow in the rotation, with the unnamed tributary as the third phase and finally, Clark Creek.
There will be no closures for Rock Fest and Country Fest, as the highway sees an increased amount of traffic during that time.
“The road is only going to be closed at these boxes,” said Shavlik. “The rest of the road will be open, but we will detour the whole section between Cornell and Cadott.”
Traffic will be detoured via State Hwys. 29, 178 and 64, adding about 27 miles to the normal travel route. The detour will follow 29, from Cadott to Chippewa Falls, and go up 178 to Cornell, over to 64.
State Hwy. 27 will remain open to local businesses and residences, but long distance travelers should plan an alternate route.
“It’s a good-sized detour,” said Shavlik. “You might be able to use some local roads on either side, but right at the box will be closed.”
There are also culverts up for replacement on State Hwy. 64, heading east, from now until June 19, and Aug. 3-28, with a project cost of $1.4 million. Temporary signals will control a single lane of traffic between County Hwy. DD and County Hwy. Q, in Chippewa County. Signals will also be used on State Hwy. 40, between County Hwy. C and 55th Avenue.
Work on the construction can be followed at projects.511wi. gov/wis27-chippewa/.
