Northwest Region Construction Update - March 27th

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) provides weekly updates on road construction projects in the following counties in northwest Wisconsin: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, Taylor, Trempealeau and Washburn counties.

Barron County

Highway: US 53 South

Location: Bridges between Cameron and New Auburn: structures over US 8, Knapp Street, County A, County AA and Carlson School Road, 2025, and structures over 20th Street, County I and the Chetek River, 2026

Schedule: May 5 to mid-November, 2025 construction; Feb. 23 to October 2026, total project completion.

Cost: $10.91 million

Description of 2026 work: Replacing the decks on the bridges over the Chetek River and 20th Street; replacing the bridge over County I; milling pavement on both sides of each structure and placing new asphalt pavement on the approaches; milling and overlaying the pavement on the southbound US 53 on- and off-ramps at the County I interchange; and replacing guardrail, pavement markings and signage

Traffic impacts: Southbound US 53 remains open to traffic, but:

• Motorists will encounter single-lane closures on southbound US 53 and a reduced speed limit of 60 mph in work zones.

• Motorists also will encounter single-lane closures on County I for the duration of the bridge replacement project.

Buffalo County

Highway: County P

Location: Trempealeau River Bridge east of Fountain City in the town of Buffalo

Schedule: Feb. 23 to mid-October

Cost: $1.78 million

Description of work: Building a temporary bypass and structure, replacing the bridge, reconstructing roadway approaches and removing temporary bypass and structure

Traffic impacts: Motorists might encounter lane closures and flagging at the site.

• In addition, construction buoys have been added upstream and downstream.

Chippewa County

Highway: US 53

Location: 40th Avenue in Lake Hallie to County B in the town of Tilden

Schedule: March 2 to late June, 2026 construction; and April 1, 2024, to late June 2026, overall project

Cost: $36.6 million

Description of 2026 work: Replacing the pavement on southbound US 53 south of County N, widening the shoulder on the ramp from Business 29/County X to southbound US 53, placing polymer overlays on the southbound US 53 bridges over the Chippewa River and BUS 29/County X, replacing guardrail, completing culvert work, building permanent maintenance crossovers, installing new pavement markings and shoulder rumble strips and removing temporary crossovers used during construction

Traffic Impacts: US 53 remains open to traffic, but:

• Motorists will encounter bidirectional traffic between 40^th Avenue and County N and a reduced speed limit of 55 mph.

• The ramp from southbound US 53 to westbound WIS 29 is closed.

• The ramp from BUS 29/County X to southbound US 53 is closed.

• The ramp closures are expected to remain in place until May 22.

• The ramp from southbound US 53 to BUS 29/County X is closed until April 27.

Eau Claire County

Highway: I-94

Location: US 53 interchange to Mallard Road southwest of Eau Claire

Schedule: March 23 to late November, 2026 construction; and March 4, 2024, to late November 2026, overall project

Cost: $69.9 million

Description of 2026 work: Replacing the pavement on eastbound I-94 from Otter Creek to Mallard Road, the eastbound bridges over County J and County D and the box culvert carrying Kluckman Valley Creek under eastbound I-94 near County D; completing shoulders, removing temporary lanes and structures and restoring the interstate’s median

Traffic Impacts: Motorists will encounter lane closures in both directions during off-peak travel times and a reduced speed limit of 60 mph in the work zone.

• Beginning Monday, March 30, County J will be closed under I-94.

Pierce County

Highway: WIS 65 and US 10

Location: Culverts carrying a branch of Goose Creek and branch of the south fork of the Kinnickinnic River under WIS 65 between River Falls and Ellsworth and culverts carrying unnamed drainageways under US 10 southeast of Ellsworth

Schedule: March 23 to early August

Cost: $2.15 million

Description of work: Replacing culvert C-47-2 and C-47-5 on WIS 65, reconstructing the roadway and removing guardrail; repairing the wing walls on culvert C-47-236 on US 10 and replacing guardrail at that location; and replacing culvert C-47-242 on US 10, reconstructing the road where work is being completed, replacing the guardrail on the north side of the highway and removing guardrail on the south side

Traffic impacts: Motorists will encounter a climbing lane closure on westbound US 10 as repair work is being done on culvert C-47-236.

• Beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, March 30, WIS 65 will be closed between 610^th Avenue and County J.

  • Traffic will be detoured via WIS 29 and US 10. 

  • The closure is anticipated to be in place through late April.

Sawyer County

Highway: County D

Location: Chippewa River Bridge east of Exeland in the town of Weirgor

Schedule: March 23 to early July

Cost: $1.08 million

Description of work: Replacing the bridge deck, making concrete surface repairs to the abutments, piers and girders, completing bridge joint, shoulder and guardrail work and replacing the roadway approach pavement

Traffic impacts: County D is closed at the Chippewa River.

• Traffic is being detoured via WIS 40, WIS 70 and WIS 27.

Trempealeau County

Highway: Smikrud Road

Location: Grant Creek Bridge south of Ettrick in the town of Gale

Schedule: Feb. 19 to late May

Cost: $580,841

Description of work: Building a temporary bypass and structure, replacing the bridge, reconstructing roadway approaches and removing the temporary bypass and structure

Traffic impacts: Motorists are using a temporary bypass to get around the construction site.

For more information regarding traffic impacts, transportation news and improvement project updates in Wisconsin’s Northwest Region:

• Follow us on X: @WisDOTnorthwest

• Visit the region’s 511 website: projects.511wi.gov/region/northwest/

Motorists are reminded that using handheld cell phones in Wisconsin work zones is illegal. Alerts and updates provided via these sites are not intended for use while driving. When driving, your focus should always be on driving.