WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Some more landscaping could be coming to the Highway 52 Parkway between the US 51 interchange and Stewart Avenue this summer.
Wausau’s BOard of Public Works opened bids Tuesday for the project. Public Works Director Eric Lindman says they’ll spend the next few weeks digesting them to see what would work in the area.
“We want something in that will help dress things up, support some of the development like the new [Ear, Nose, and Throat clinic] that’s going up in that area and the new fire station that will be constructed this year,” said Lindman.
As of now, they are working with a blank canvas, and Lindman says they are open to any ideas that the winning bidder would have. “We would like to add to our tree canopy in the city, to some extent. Some landscape boulders are in the mix. An irrigation system, because that is natural turf.”
He says whatever does end up in the median will need to be tolerant to road salt because of the nature of the roadway.
The city had originally planned to dress up the medians when those on the east side of the US 51 interchange had been completed, but the project was put on the back burner until now.
Money for the project would come out of the Tax Increment Financing district in the area. Lindman didn’t provide a specific timeline for when the project would be completed. He does plan to have the final proposals posted for the public to view and comment on before giving the final green light.
