Kenosha County’s Largest Roadway Project Opens to Public
KENOSHA COUNTY, WI — Earlier this month, local, county and state officials gathered to celebrate the completion of County Highway S, Kenosha County’s largest road project to date, with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The reconstruction project transformed what was once a two-lane road into a four-lane divided highway. Of the three-and-a-half-mile corridor, two miles were managed by the Wisconsin Department of the Transportation and the remaining segment was managed by Kenosha County. The new highway is better equipped to handle the increasing traffic load and now meets Wisconsin state highway safety standards.
Benesch provided construction management services for the project and was represented by Project Manager Brad Bacilek at the event.
“As the Project Leader representing Kenosha County, it’s been an honor to be involved with this record-setting project for the county,” said Bacilek. “This corridor provides a critical access point into Kenosha and is going to do a lot of good for the community. We appreciate the cooperation of residents, businesses and other stakeholders and especially the support of local law enforcement throughout the project.”
In addition to alleviating traffic and safety concerns, the reconstruction addressed flooding issues in the area. As a part of the project, a stormwater detention pond was built to hold water during heavy rain events and control the outflow into adjacent waterways.
“From the moment we were awarded the project, we worked closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A lot of the construction area included wetlands and critical waterways. This helped us ensure proper protection of the areas, and that we weren’t negatively impacting anything with our work,” said Bacilek.
With construction progressing through 2020, the Benesch team tackled a few unique challenges. Local businesses navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns feared construction would delay shipments from the nearby Amazon facilities. Benesch worked to minimize traffic interruptions and provide increased signage for businesses along the corridor.
Additionally, the expansion required the relocation of utilities and tunneling under railroads. Both efforts required extensive coordination efforts from Benesch.
Learn more about the project and see more aerial views of the entire CTH S corridor here.
