The end is in sight for Oconto Falls residents weary of road construction. The state Highway 22 reconstruction project through the city reached its final phase this week with the start of Stage 2B — the repair of North Main Street from Cherry Street by Peterson Ford to Highland Drive.
Barricades will be placed on this section of Highway 22, allowing one lane open in each direction, said Duke Peters, project manager for Peters Concrete Company, at a Highway 22 informational meeting Friday at City Hall.
Pavement repair is scheduled to begin this week in Stage 2B, but it will not be a full-blown reconstruction project like the rest of the Highway 22 work. Repairs will begin on the two middle lanes first, then switch to the outer lanes, where pedestrian ramps will be put in and spot repairs made.
Side streets will be blocked off, and barricades also will be up on Main Street through the downtown business district where street work continues. Crews are scheduled to hand-form and pour intersections this week, install conduit for street lighting, add curb on both sides of the street and work on retaining walls.
Sidewalk work is scheduled to start Monday and extend for three weeks, limiting access to downtown businesses.
“It will be challenging, to say the least,” Peters said.
He said contractors will talk with business owners on the route about the sidewalk schedule as it is finalized.
“If people do have back entrances they can use for those two to five days, that would be great,” he said.
For Joan Denis, Oconto Falls Community Library director, a back entrance isn’t an option, although perhaps it wouldn’t matter if a back door were open. The library has experienced a marked decline in foot traffic since construction began on Main Street, Denis said.
“With all the work going on right in front of the library, people aren’t coming in,” she said.
She invited the construction crew to visit the book sale that failed to draw a large crowd in September.
The $3.95 million Highway 22 project is scheduled to wrap up completely on Nov. 11, weather permitting.
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