Thomas Street Improvement Project - Wisconsin River to 17th Avenue
In March, 2008, the Wausau Common Council established a preferred corridor alignment for widening Thomas Street from the Wisconsin River west to 17th Avenue. In the long run, the project will involve large scale acquisition of private proeprty within the corridor. It appears that about 55 properties will need to be acquired to complete the street widening. The alignment of the approved corridor is summarized in the four segments below:
- From the Wisconsin River to Cleveland Avenue property will be acquired from primarily the north side of Thomas Street.
- From Cleveland Avenue to 1st Avenue property will be acquired from primarily the south side of Thomas Street.
- From 1st Avenue to 10th Avenue property will be obtained from primarily the north side of Thomas Street.
- From 10th Avenue to 17th Avenue property will be obtained from primarily the south side of Thomas Street.
Maps showing the corridor alignment and a typical street cross section are available:
- West Portion of Project (PDF 20MB)
- East Portion of Project (PDF 20MB)
- Typical Street Cross-Section (PDF)
Approval of the corridor alignment was important for a number of reasons. First, it gave property owners along Thomas Street an answer as to whether or not their property would eventually be acquired. Property owners have been aware of this project for quite some time and there has been a lot of concern and apprehension not knowing which properties would be affected in the long run.
Second, it allowed AECOM, Inc., the City's engineering consultant for the project, to proceed with the detailed design plans.
Third, the City will be better able to continue to search for financial assistance for land acquisition and construction funds from Federal, State and County sources. This will be an expensive project; land acquisition and relocation costs are estimated to be $10 million, and construction costs are estimated at $4.7 million (based on 2007 dollars). It is critical that other sources of funding be obtained to assist with this project.
In November, 2009, the Common Council approved the following design elements for the reconstruction project:
- Thomas Street will be constructed with raised medians to provide a positive division of traffic with shelter islands for left turns and for pedestrians crossing the widened street.
- No access will be provided to Thomas Street from 16th Avenue and a cul-de-sac will be constructed.
- As a safety measure, raised medians in the center of the new four-lane street will be constructed to prevent left turns and cross traffic at McCleary Street, 4th Avenue, 10th Avenue, 12th Avenue, and 15th Avenue; however, a right turn in and right turn out will be allowed at these intersections.
- Unrestricted access will be provided at the intersections of Emter Street, Cleveland Avenue, 1st Avenue, 3rd Avenue, 5th Avenue, 6th Avenue, 7th Avenue, 8th Avenue, 9th Avenue, 11th Avenue, 13th Avenue, and 14th Avenue.
- Grass medians will be used for storm water management in an effort to reduce total suspended solids as mandated by the Department of Natural Resources.
- Traffic signals will be installed at the 3rd Avenue and 11th Avenue intersections with Thomas Street.
- To minimize the impact of the street widening project on the contaminated property east of the 3M site, the street alignment will be shifted to the south and the street median and travel lanes will be narrowed slightly.
AECOM is currently continuing with the design process to finalize plans for the project. Completing this design phase will permit the final development of a right-of-way plat to provide a formal plan for property acquisition.
While some minor property acquisition has taken place with the limited funds available, large scale land acquisition activities will not begin until significant Federal and State funding assistance is available. All property acquisition and resident and business relocation will follow State and Federal laws and regulations. Construction is not anticipated to take place until 2015 or later.
If you have any questions about the Thomas Street project, please contact Brad Marquardt, Project Manager, City of Wausau, 407 Grant Street, Wausau, WI 54403, 715-261-6740.