Hwy. 33 Expansion Should Begin in May

A two-mile stretch of Hwy. 33 will expand to four lanes after the Port Washington Common Council approved the state and municipal agreements for the project on Tuesday.

The plan to widen the highway to four lanes from the Milwaukee River overflow bridge to South Tower Drive has been in the works since 2000, and Port Washington City Engineer Rob Vanden Noven said, “The state’s very eager to have the agreement.”

The approval of the state and municipal agreements by March 15 ensures that work can begin this year.  Vanden Noven expects the construction to begin in May and finish by the end of the year.  

The new agreement only covers the city of Port Washington.  Saukville will have a separate agreement with the state, rather than having Port Washington pay the costs and seek reimbursement from the village.

Vanden Noven also discussed the increased real estate costs associated with the project.  The city will spend $390,000 on real estate for this project, roughly 10 times the amount estimated in 2000.  This increase was a bit unexpected, but Vanden Noven was able to negotiate with the Department of Transportation to have these costs lowered.  

In total, the project will cost about $13.5 million. Port Washington will pay $1.2 million of that cost.

The city has also been provided with a $605,000 landscaping credit.  Vanden Noven said that most of this money will be used for trees, but “the rest will be escrowed to maintain the landscaping, especially in the first few years.”

Port Washington also receives a $142,000 credit for community sensitive design to ensure that the ornamental street lighting in the city is consistent along the expanded road.