Hwy. B reconstruction project, traffic reroutes, begin Monday

By Brandi Makuski

If all goes as planned and the weather cooperates, Plover will have a new stretch of Hwy. B with a lower speed limit by the end of 2024.

The $6,385,291 construction project kicks off Monday, April 8, on County Hwy. B in Plover between Hoover Ave. and the I-39 ramps. Traffic will be rerouted with signed detours during the construction.

Details were first released to the public by the Metro Wire in September 2023.

The rural-to-urban revitalization includes replacement of the deteriorated concrete pavement, widening the pavement median, new curb and gutter or asphalt shoulders, new concrete sidewalk, asphalt multi-use path, and a signalized intersection at Mecca Drive.

Crews have already begun relocating utilities, according to Highway Commissioner Nathan Check.

The project will be completed in four phases. The south side of Hwy. B, between Hoover Rd. and I-39, is first up, with pavement replacement in eastbound travel lanes beginning on Monday. A rebuild of the westbound lanes will follow.

Phase three shuts down outside travel lanes during construction between from late summer through fall, according to a timeline from design firm Gremmer & Associates. The Hoover Ave. intersection reconstruction should be finished before Celebrate Plover, which is held on the last Saturday in July.

The final phase should begin in late fall, reducing traffic to a single lane in both directions while inside lanes are rebuilt.

Check said the project was selected for funding through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Program-Urban, which provides up to 80 percent state and federal funding for the design and construction. The project is expected to be completed in late November, he said.

Motorists should drive through the area slowly and plan for extra travel time, Check said.