By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

A major road reconstruction project will be taking place on Walworth Avenue this summer, and the installation of a new gas line that’s currently underway by We Energies is a forerunner. Public Works Director Brad Marquardt told The Banner that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which is managing the road construction, gave the utilities in the area a heads-up encouraging them to perform any needed upgrades beforehand.

Marquardt indicated that the construction on a short road segment west of Highway 12 is scheduled to begin in late May. After the school district’s summer break begins, the construction will proceed east from Highway 12 to Janesville Street.

Normally road construction in the city is its own responsibility. The Walworth Avenue project, however, was selected to be included in the funding provided to the state under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Consequently, the state will be responsible for 80% of the cost, leaving the city with only 20%.

Of course, the road construction will necessitate a “local traffic only” order for an extended period of time. Regular users of the street have probably felt for a long time that the road needed help.

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