Calhoun Road reconstruction presented many challenges

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The Calhoun Road reconstruction project was one of the largest and most complex Wisconsin Department of Transportation Local Program projects to take place in the state in 2021.

raSmith provided design services to Brookfield and WisDOT to widen a 2-mile section of the road from CTH M (North Avenue) to Wisconsin 190 (Capitol Drive). Calhoun Road is a rural, two-lane roadway with 6- to 8-foot-wide gravel shoulders and ditches for drainage.

To avoid encroaching on nearby wetlands, floodplains and residential properties as much as possible, the firm relied on three different urban-roadway cross sections. The road itself was widened to a four-lane urban stretch with bicycle accommodations and a sidewalk.

Because the project bisected and encroached on a large wetland complex, it required coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. To carry out its work, raSmith prepared an 85-parcel, right-of-way plat and worked closely with Brookfield on real-estate acquisition.

The project in many ways was a continuation of widening work that had already given Calhoun Road four lanes along a 3-mile stretch to the south. These latest improvements were made to the last remaining section of the roadway needing to be widened.

The corridor is a vital thoroughfare for the public. Many of the city’s emergency services, including the local police station and three fire stations, are on Calhoun Road.

Designing the project was by no means easy. Its worksite was abutted primarily by residences and businesses, as well as a school and several religious centers.

Other obstacles were two nearby streams, a pond, two railroad crossings, 14 intersections and a large wetland.

“During design, five public involvement meetings and numerous individual meetings were held to ensure the needs of residents, businesses, the traveling public and all other project stakeholders would be met with the project,” said Brad Severson, project manager with raSmith.