PIERCE (NBC 26) — On Longfellow and 10th Roads in Pierce, one can see many road signs and cones for two projects:
- A closed bridge on Longfellow Road, just south of County Road K
- One-lane traffic by a box culvert on 10th Road
But there is no construction equipment nearby.
According to Pierce town chairman Brian Paplham, Pierce has paid for engineering, and is set to receive about $781,000— roughly 90% of the project's cost— through Wisconsin's Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP).
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But he tells NBC 26 work that can not begin until a State Municipal Project Agreement (SMA), is signed between the town and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
"We were proactive about it," Paplham said. "We have to sit anyway because we can't have it figured out."
John Madden, who lives near the intersection of Longfellow and 10th Roads, says Longfellow Road's closure has affected his commute towards Algoma.
"That's our shortcut into town," he said about Longfellow Road. "I have a UTV that I can't use on county roads, you got to stay on town roads. I could go to my son's house to cut grass or go into town and go to the store."
Paplham says that he understands neighbors' concerns.
"It is what it is for now," he said. "But from the town's side, we'll be trying as hard as we can to fight it and keep this thing moving along."
Paplham says that state legislators have told him that they will try to speed up the SMA process, and start construction by late fall. Something that the Department of Transportation told NBC 26 as well.
But Madden wants state leaders to see the impact for themselves.
"Come and look what it's doing," he said.
Paplham hopes the project will be finished by next spring or summer.
