According to the Rock County Public Works website, the closure for paving and culvert replacement on County Highway N, which extends from the western end of Walworth Street, is now expected to continue through October 31. Originally this project was planned to be completed by August 31, with the completion date subsequently being delayed to September 29, October 13, and most recently, October 20.

The Banner reached out to Duane M. Jorgenson, Jr., PE, Director of Public Works for Rock County, inquiring about the factors contributing to the delay as well as the likelihood of the project being completed by October 31. His response on October 25 is provided below.

“There are a variety of factors that have challenged us in getting CTH N completed as anticipated.  They are listed below in no particular order.

• Scheduling challenges due to funding approval delay early in the year
• Staffing challenges
• Challenges with through traffic trying to use a closed road
• Equipment breakdowns
• Challenges with acquiring material – Plant breakdowns
• Late season weather implications
• Loss of partial days due to excessive heat and air quality issues due to Canadian smoke.

All of these items combined, in conjunction with when they affected the project, have contributed to the delays with the project.  We have attempted to counter these items, to the extent we could, in an effort to get this project completed in a timely manner.

The remaining item to complete is the pavement marking.  This work has started, but the weather has posed problems in getting this completed.  With rain anticipated most of the rest of this week and cold temps anticipated next week, I am hopeful that we can find a window that is dry and warm enough to complete the work and can get it open by October 31, but it is hard to tell if this will happen or not.”

The following additional note was received later from Mr. Jorgenson:

“The centerline did get striped yesterday [Oct. 24.]  There was discussion about opening it up, however based on standard requirements of the Manual of Uniform Control Devices (MUTCD), with the volume of traffic we need to have the edge lines installed prior to opening.

These are tentatively planned for Saturday, but they will not be able to get all of it done due to the volume of paint needed is more than they can cover in a day this time of year.  They are looking to wrap up on Monday.  This is all weather dependent, but I am still hoping to be open on Monday or Tuesday next week.”

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Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation website still projects that the Highway 12 reconstruction between Whitewater and Fort Atkinson is anticipated to be completed on November 3. Originally it was indicated that work might be continuing until sometime in December.

Editor’s note: The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by Esmoth from Pixabay.