Tim Ryan tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski For the first time in months, vehicles were able to use Airport Road between County Road B, shown here, and Green Bay Street. The road opened Wednesday after more than two months of work to repave and widen it.
Airport Drive was opened to traffic again Wednesday after completion of a 2½-month state reconstruction project.
The project wrapped up roughly on the schedule originally envisioned, said Shawano Department of Public Works Coordinator Eddie Sheppard.
That was in spite of work falling behind for a while with expectations the road would be closed another week. Instead Department of Transportation crews managed to catch up again and complete work on schedule, Sheppard said.
The $2.5 million project resurfaced and widened Airport Drive from state Highway 22 (Green Bay Street) to state Highway 29.
Pavement on Airport Drive, which also is state Highway 47, had deteriorated and was showing severe cracking and uneven surfaces prior to the project.
According to the DOT, the road as it was had simply reached the end of its useful life.
The project removed existing asphalt and added a new overlay the entire length of the project. Storm sewers inlet, curb and gutter, and signage were also replaced where necessary.
Airport Drive had been a mix of two and four lanes, divided and undivided roadway.
The DOT calls the new roadway design an enhanced two-lane configuration, creating shoulders between travel lanes and the curb, and adding left turn lanes at Beauprey Road and Richmond Street.
“Everything was done to our expectations,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard drove down the road Wednesday.
“The asphalt is nice,” he said. “It’s two lanes, but it seems wide open and safer.”
There was also a noticeable improvement to the railroad crossing.
“My teeth didn’t rattle when I crossed it,” he said.
There was still one issue Thursday that DOT engineers were still addressing.
The traffic detector at Airport Drive and Green Bay Street wasn’t picking up the first car in the northbound lane of traffic, which was causing a long wait for the lights to change. That was in the process of being fixed Thursday.
Also still to come as part of the project is a new sign welcoming motorists to the city that will be located at Airport Drive and County Road B.
Sheppard said the sign should be up by early next week at the latest.