Burlington Bypass detour plan agreement reached

May 21, 2009

A multi-jurisdictional agreement has been reached on how motorists near the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Burlington Bypass construction project should detour the construction zone.

The focus of the agreement was to designate alternative traffic routes to ease a considerable influx of traffic into the Springbrook Landing subdivision, which has caused local road congestion and concern for some subdivision residents.

Burlington city and town representatives and representatives from the town of Lyons, as well as other stakeholders, reached the agreement Friday after informal discussions.

The city has agreed to re-route traffic on a newly paved street to relieve the amount of traffic traveling through the residential subdivision. The town of Burlington has agreed to identify a group of residents who would be the only ones allowed to use Yahnke Road. Other travelers will be directed to use the WisDOT signed detour that identifies WIS 50 as the detour or use other town roads to get to WIS 83 and thereby avoid the construction area.

Those residents who live north of Fish Hatchery Road on McHenry (County P) or on Yahnke Road, should stop at the WisDOT field office during normal working hours with a piece of mail or ID to proving residency within the authorized user zone. Those persons will be issued a placard to place in their windshield to show they live within the zone.

The WisDOT field office is located on west side of Yahnke Road, south of the new bypass. The contractor has been working 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

Burlington city and town police will be strictly enforcing this closure. Motorists caught using the subdivision connection without a placard will be issued a ticket for $83.80 for the first offense and $121.60 for the second and subsequent offenses, starting Friday.

Thomas busses and emergency vehicles are authorized to use the connection without picking up a placard to display in their window.

For those living at the edge of authorized zone, at the intersection of County P and Fish Hatchery Road, it is roughly an additional four and a half miles to the WIS 83 and Hidden Creek intersection and will add about seven minutes to your trip into Burlington.

WisDOT asks for your patience until County P is reopened, projected for mid-October, weather permitting.

WisDOT project manager Traci Gengler said the agreement  “is a great example of communities working together and compromising for a common goal.”

For more information, contact:
Dennis A. Shook, Regional Communications Manager
(414) 750-2395, dennis.shook@dot.wi.gov