City of Schofield
SCHOFIELD, WI (WSAU) — Don’t expect too much in the way of major street projects in the City of Schofield in 2021.
Public Works Director Mark Thuot says much of this year’s $100,000 streets budget will be focused on maintaining what’s already there such as resurfacing jobs on Eau Claire Avenue and Ross Avenue. “Those are areas that are highly traveled so we try to keep them protected [with a] a one-inch overlay or surface treatment of some sort.”
He says they’re also looking at crack filling on other recently re-worked streets such as Metro Drive, School Street, Alderson Street, and a portion of Grand Avenue. “If we don’t protect [those,] they will fail too.”
Thuot adds that he still hopes to secure additional state and federal funding to repair a stretch of Grand Avenue near the municipal boundary with Wausau, saying there’s no way a city like Schofield can tackle such a project on its own.
“Our budget, our tax dollars are too small to be able to afford a road of such size, with such demands- up to 15,000 cars per day. We do our best within our means to maintain it, but the only way to really afford that road is with alternative sources of funding,” he said.
That would also involve some collaboration with the City of Wausau. He adds that even by starting the process now, it would likely be several years before the project would become reality.
During Monday’s Public Works Committee meeting some Alders expressed an interest in adding to the city’s street budget to allow more projects to be completed, but Thuot says it’s extremely difficult to accomplish that. Just like any other budget, an increase in one area means a cut in another.
A full list of the city’s street projects for the upcoming year should be ready in the next two months to allow time to secure contractors.
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