Water service in the Village of Gays Mills was interrupted Tuesday, June 8, by a water main break in Highway 131 construction zone caused by digging alongside the roadway.
The two-and-a-half hour suspension of water service lasted from about 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The broken water main was located about 250 feet north of Grove Street on Highway 131.
At 6 p.m., workers from Iverson Construction, using a Bobcat and a loader, were moving soil and gravel back into the hole following repair of the main break by Gays Mills DPW employees.
The two Iverson employees and the traffic trying to get past them in the open traffic lane were attempting to do it without the help of flaggers, who had left for the day. It was a case of motorists and heavy equipment operators trying to guess who would go next.
Additionally, it was quite possible the construction workers may have been at the site since early that morning.
A connected source in the village told the Independent-Scout that in milling off the top layer of pavement, construction workers had removed the markings on the highway indicating the presence of water and sewer mains and not redone the markings.
By Friday, another problem has arisen in the Highway 131 construction zone, as ditches being dug cutoff town roads and driveways in the area. Some residents were notified in advance and took steps to get vehicles parked elsewhere. However, some were unfortunately not notified of the ditch plan and were trapped on their side of the ditch until the work was complete.
Numerous incidents of construction workers walking into the open traffic lane without looking have also been reported.
“Everybody that comes in is talking about it,” Devin from the Ocooch Mountain General Store said of the construction on Highway 131, the road on which OMG is located.
Cashiers at the Marketplace, located on Highway 131, also noted the construction problems were being talked about by many customers. The same at Apple Valley Vet on Main Street, where customers struggled to make their appointments on time.
One of the biggest concerns locally seemed to be the lack of flaggers in one lane traffic situation. While there were some flaggers present at times, many times there were not. Blind spots in long lines of large parked equipment were particularly difficult, local motorists reported.
Other problems involved some highway construction workers entering the open traffic lane without being aware of vehicles present and failing to look for them. This was observed on several occasions by Independent-Scout staff members coming to, or going home from work.
Despite some of the problems locally, Department of Transportation Highway 131 Project Manager Jared Lex said the project was on schedule.
Six bridges in the Steuben to Sunny Ridge Road area are in various stages of completion, according to the DOT project manager. Three are pretty much done, needing guardrails and/or approaches to be finished. Two other bridges are being actively built now and one remains to be addressed.
In addition to paving in the Gays Mills Area, an Iverson crew will begin working on a storm sewer that will run from the old county shop in Soldiers Grove down to the Kickapoo River along Highway 131. Meanwhile milling and relaying of pavement will continue on 131.
Lex acknowledged that safety should be everyone’s priority during the project. He also said flagging should be provided when the crew is working in a one lane of traffic project.
Iverson Construction’s Highway 131 Project Manager Nick Walker did return our call, but declined to comment or answer questions about the project. Walker instead referred us to the Wisconsin DOT for information.
