Maybe you hadn’t noticed yet, but on May 19th the City of Madison exploded in road construction. It’s no coincidence that the UW graduation ceremonies happened the prior weekend. Yes, the students are gone for the summer and the orange construction barrels have moved in to take their place.

Not that there wasn’t already plenty of construction happening. Particularly on the isthmus, there’s a good deal of tearing down and building up happening. Surprising, perhaps, in the midst of a sluggish economy, but most of these projects have been in the pipeline for years.

One of the recommendations of the Mayor’s Platinum Biking Committee report was to improve the consideration of the needs of bicyclists in construction detours. It seems like a no-brainer that all road users should be considered when making decisions about construction detours, but the truth is that construction traffic control is something of an infant field of work. It is often an after-thought, even for cars.

I’m learning to appreciate the challenges of this field of work more and more. This week I decided to make a road construction detour map for bicyclists for the summer construction in Madison. It seemed like an easy enough task. It wasn’t. It’s hard because road construction (or utility or building construction that affects traffic) involves large numbers of players and the conditions are constantly changing. There could be ten contractors on any one job, all with their own work schedules and needs. It can be hard to keep up with what is going on any certain day, or even any certain hour. I quickly realized that a construction detour map would be out-of-date before I even had a chance to distribute it. Besides, how many bicyclists check a web map before they get on their bike?

I think that the key is assuring that there is good information on the ground for bicyclists. As conditions around construction sites change, clear detour information needs to be provided for all road users. If no one told the cars where to go there would be a big problem in no time. The needs of bicyclists should be considered on that same level of importance, especially since a detour can have a much bigger impact on a person whose engine is their body.

There is information online in various places to give you a general idea about where construction is happening, though for all the reason that I already explained, it is only generalized information. Links are below.

Key hot spots in Madison to watch for this summer include:
1. Gorham will be closed in various spots up near Baldwin street for most of the summer

2. University Avenue is going to be a real trouble spot for a long time due to construction of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery/Morgridge Institute for Research (WID-MIR) project, the Grainger addition (which is nearly finished), the Lucky project at the old University Square site, the East Campus Utility Project, and the eventual demolition and construction at the site of the old Peterson building. When it is all said and done there will be a nice bicycle/pedestrian mall at Murray Mall, but construction is going to drag on for a long time.

Alternate routes to University around the Lake/Park area are also clogged since the upper section of State Street is under construction and because of the demolition of the old Ogg Hall on Dayton Street. Expect constant detour changes and occasional complete traffic shut downs. Be aware that confused or frustrated motorists may behave more unpredictably in these areas.

It’s going to be a long summer on the roads. Take a deep breath and get ready to be inconvenienced.

City of Madison Traffic Alerts
City of Madison Road Construction
Fitchburg
Dane County Road Projects
Wisconsin DOT Road Construction
UW West Campus Utility Project
Other UW Construction Projects

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