July 12, 2024
By Lane Kimble
WAUSAU, Wis. — Cory Tomczyk was clearly enjoying himself – full of smiles and booming laughter – while walking a WTBA-member worksite in Wausau this week.
“I’m a hands-on guy and I don’t mind getting dirty, but I need to do this more often,” Tomczyk said after an hour-long tour of Integrity Grading & Excavating’s reconstruction job on Stewart Avenue.
“It’s really always impressive to see the great work.”
Still, the State Senator from Mosinee had to shake his head when IGE crews showed him a prime example of the type of issue his Compensable Utility Delay bill (signed into law in December) aims to prevent. Tomczyk is also the chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation.
A fiber line, which was supposed to be moved ahead of construction in April, lays right where crews plan to make a subgrade cut and widen the road to 36 feet.
“My job is to make Madison help you guys get your job done better,” Tomczyk pledged.
IGE says they’re working with the utility to get the line moved before it gets to the point of seeking compensation.
Instead, a very rainy spring and summer has been the bigger challenge, pushing IGE and its subs about two weeks behind schedule.
The project replaces the aging asphalt along a 1.25-mile stretch into and out of downtown Wausau, places new water and sewer lines, and adds a multi-use path.
“I think the pedestrians will like (the new path) a lot better and it’s a good local project,” IGE Operations Manager Brandon Barden told WTBA. “It’s bringing some new stuff to homeowners, wider turning radiuses, so traffic should move more freely.”
Barden is a member of the WTBA of Tomorrow Council.
Members are working with WTBA’s Elise Nelson to line up lawmaker project tours all across Wisconsin this summer.
Tuesday’s visit gave IGE President Dan Weinkauf the chance to thank Tomczyk for his efforts on the utility bill and offer him and State Rep. Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) some industry insights to ponder.
“This particular project is so relevant for central Wisconsin, because you have Integrity here based right around the Wausau area, you’ve got subcontractors that are from central Wisconsin, so it really is a big impact for here, not only getting the road fixed but economically,” Snyder said.
