WisDOT Northwest Region Construction Update - March 20

Release date: March 20, 2026

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) provides weekly updates on road construction projects in the following counties in northwest Wisconsin: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, Taylor, Trempealeau and Washburn counties.

Barron County

US 53 South

• Location: Bridges between Cameron and New Auburn: structures over US 8, Knapp Street, County A, County AA and Carlson School Road, 2025, and structures over 20th Street, County I and the Chetek River, 2026
• Schedule: May 5 to mid-November, 2025 construction; Feb. 23 to October 2026, total project completion.
• Cost: $10.91 million
• Description of 2026 work: Replacing the decks on the bridges over the Chetek River and 20th Street; replacing the bridge over County I; milling pavement on both sides of each structure and placing new asphalt pavement on the approaches; milling and overlaying the pavement on the southbound US 53 on- and off-ramps at the County I interchange; and replacing guardrail, pavement markings and signage
• Traffic impacts: Southbound US 53 remains open to traffic, but:
• Motorists will encounter single-lane closures on southbound US 53 and a reduced speed limit of 60 mph in work zones.
• Motorists also will encounter single-lane closures on County I for the duration of the bridge replacement project.
• County I in both directions will be closed to traffic between the north- and southbound US 53 on- and off-ramps from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday, March 25.
• During these closures, the interchange ramps will remain open.
• 20th Street under US 53 is closed until about 3 p.m. today. It will be closed to traffic Monday and Tuesday, March 23-24, starting around 7 a.m. Monday.

Buffalo County

County P

Location: Trempealeau River Bridge east of Fountain City in the town of Buffalo
Schedule: Feb. 23 to mid-October
Cost: $1.78 million
Description: Building a temporary bypass and structure, replacing the bridge, reconstructing roadway approaches and removing the temporary bypass and structure.
Traffic impacts: Motorists might encounter lane closures and flagging at the site during the mobilizing of equipment and materials. In addition, construction buoys have been added upstream and downstream.

Chippewa County

US 53

• Location: 40th Avenue in Lake Hallie to County B in the town of Tilden
• Schedule: March 2 to late June, 2026 construction; and April 1, 2024, to late June 2026, overall project
• Cost: $36.6 million
• Description of 2026 work: Replacing the pavement on southbound US 53 south of County N, widening the shoulder on the ramp from Business 29/County X to southbound US 53, placing polymer overlays on the southbound US 53 bridges over the Chippewa River and BUS 29/County X, replacing guardrail, completing culvert work, building permanent maintenance crossovers, installing new pavement markings and shoulder rumble strips and removing temporary crossovers used during construction
• Traffic Impacts: US 53 remains open to traffic, but:
• Motorists will encounter bidirectional traffic between 40th Avenue and County N and a reduced speed limit of 55 mph.
• The ramp from Business 29/County X to southbound US 53 is closed.
• The ramp from southbound US 53 to westbound WIS 29 is closed.
• The ramp closures are expected to remain in place until May 22.
• The ramp from southbound US 53 to BUS 29/County X is expected to be closed to traffic from Thursday, March 26 to April 27.

Trempealeau County

Smikrud Road

• Location: Grant Creek Bridge south of Ettrick in the town of Gale
• Schedule: Feb. 19 to late May
• Cost: $580,541
• Description: Building a temporary bypass and structure, replacing the bridge, reconstructing roadway approaches and removing the temporary bypass and structure.
• Traffic impacts: Motorists are using a temporary bypass to get around the construction site.

• Motorists are reminded that using handheld cell phones in Wisconsin work zones is illegal. Alerts and updates provided via these sites are not intended for use while driving. When driving, your focus should always be on driving.