Hwy. 33 Not Finished Yet, On Account of the Rain

With the Hwy. 33 project deadline come and gone, the question is: Why are construction workers still on the road, with an uncompleted project?

Port Washington City Engineer Rob Vanden Noven said it's likely much needed rain the area has seen in August that is to blame for project delays.

"The type of pavement marking they're installing is not paint," Vanden Noven said in an e-mail to Patch. "It is a highly reflective and long-lasting preformed plastic that is adhered to the pavement with epoxy. Bottom line is, it is very weather/moisture sensitive and takes weeks rather than days to install. The rain has also set back their paving several nights."

That being said, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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"In Port, we are easily passed the 99 percent (complete) mark," he said at Tuesday night's Common Council meeting, adding he'd hope to see it 100 percent finished in a couple weeks.

But little progress has been made on the Port Washington Common Council's request for answers regarding the excessive signage. Concerns have been raised both about .

"On the signage issue, I’m still continuing to work with their staff," Vanden Noven said. "Some signage isn’t required, but I believe it adds safety, so we don’t want to regard each sign as a nuisance."

Rick Nelson, chairman for the Police and Fire Commission, told the council on Tuesday night he agrees the excess signs are cause for confusion — which is an unwanted problem. 

As you approach the roundabout heading west on Hwy. 33 at County Hwy. LL, there are two crosswalks with four pedestrian signs in a compact area, he said.

"(There is) so much going on that I didn't even see the pedestrian in the crosswalk," he said. "I think we’re just asking for a problem, there’s way too many signs and it’s just too confusing."

The council also discussed the problem of excessive weeds growing in parkways, and wondering who is responsible for that maintainence.