Sunday will be the last chance for travelers to ride "Rollercoaster Road," also known as County Road PC, in its most infamous form.
The road received the colloquial nickname because of it's high highs and low lows, both of which will be sedated with the overhaul that recently received a starting date of Monday, April 6.
PC will be receiving a series of face lifts and fillers with steep ridges being cut while deep valleys are raised. In total, around 100 feet each of peaks and dips will be trimmed and filled to create a simpler, less jarring profile.
One of the sharpest drops, which is located between Odessa and Oakdale Avenues, will be elevated 33.5 feet. The hill just north of that section will be shortened by 16.5 feet. The biggest hill cut will be 18.5 feet, which is just south of Highway 33. While the up-and-down nature of PC will be tamed, there will also be minor lateral movements added.
A section between Oboe Ave. and Odessa will slightly shift west, which will help create parking for the Immanuel Moen Lutheran Church. A section starting before and ending after Oakdale Ave. will be shifted east.
All that work comes with a price tag of nearly $6.5 million.
According to a press release from the Monroe County Highway Dept., a Fennimore-based company was awarded the project. The 2.32-mile-long reconstruction will be completed by H. James & Sons, Incorporated for $6,458,359.
"The project will include excavation, grading, intersection realignment, crushed base aggregate, Hot Mix Asphalt pavement, concrete curb & gutter, culvert installation, stormwater management, temporary and permanent erosion control, traffic control signs, pavement marking, structure replacement and all incidental items necessary to complete the work," said the press release issued last Thursday afternoon.
A majority, or 80%, of the project will be federally funded by the Surface Transportation Program. Monroe County will foot the remaining 20%.
The project has been years in the making and is anticipated to be wrapped up by October 2026.
Highway commissioner David Ohnstad said that planning began in 2020 with Monroe County commissioning Jewell Asssociates Engineers to assist with project design scoping.
The first public input meeting was held October 20, 2020 at the Cashton Community Hall. Once feedback was received, a letter was sent out to landowners in March the following year, and another public information session was hosted in December 2021.
"It had become apparent that the project was going to be far more expansive and expensive than originally imagined, so we sought out alternative program funding," said Ohnstad of the SLP funding route.
Residents and land owners will have access through the reconstruction process. There is no formal detour route posted.
