Pavement project on WIS 13 in city of Mellen, town of Morse to start

​Project includes reco​​nstructing road and replacing bridge in city limits, resurfacing portion in town

To invest in Wisconsin's transportation system, Gov. Tony Evers has signed an $8.67 million contract with prime contractor A-1 Excavating of Bloomer for a project reconstructing or resurfacing segments of WIS 13 in the Ashland County city of Mellen and town of Morse.

Traffic control is expected to be put in place Monday, April 3, with construction scheduled to start Tuesday, April 4.

The contractor is holding a preconstruction meeting for business owners to share project details from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, April 3, at the Morse Town Hall, 402 2nd Ave., Mellen.

To address deteriorating pavement and other issues, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation plans to do the following in:

• City of Mellen:
• Reconstruct WIS 13 from Jefferson Avenue to the north city limits.
• Replace the Bad River Bridge.
• Complete grading to improve side slopes and drainage.
• Replace storm sewer, sidewalk curb ramps at crosswalks and curb and gutter.
• The city plans to replace sanitary sewer and water main.
• Pave parking lanes.
• Town of Morse:
• Resurface WIS 13 from the north city limits to Golf Course Road.

Construction will result in the following traffic impacts:

• During the reconstruction of WIS 13 around the railroad tracks and replacement of the Bad River Bridge, WIS 13 will be closed to through traffic and detoured.
• During the reconstruction of the remaining portions of WIS 13 in the city limits, a single lane of traffic will be maintained in one direction while traffic heading in the other direction will be detoured.
• During the first stage of construction, northbound WIS 13 traffic will remain on the existing northbound lane between Jefferson Avenue and WIS 169. In that same segment, southbound WIS 13 traffic will remain on the southbound lane to County GG, and then southbound traffic will be detoured via County GG and Thomas Street.
• During the resurfacing of WIS 13 from the north city limits to Golf Course Road, motorists will encounter single-lane closures controlled by flagging.
• During all construction, truck traffic will be detoured via WIS 182, WIS 47, US 51 and US 2.
• Access to local businesses and residences will be maintained to the maximum extent possible.

Construction is scheduled for completion in November.