August 7, 2026
By Lane Kimble
GERMANTOWN — The intersection of Highway 145 and County G in Washington County was about as quiet as a construction zone can be Thursday afternoon.
A mini excavator sat still while a few workers took a break and the only cars moving by were in and out of the garage of a nearby auto repair shop.
It’s the kind of work zone Bob Draths wishes he had all the time.
“We’re lucky here,” Draths told WTBA as he walked around the project.
Lucky because signs and barricades fully close the well-traveled crossroads near Germantown while Draths and his prime contractor Musson Brothers, Inc. crews and subs build a roundabout.
Thursday was especially quiet because concrete was curing and Draths was waiting on final grading, paving, and electricians to come in, but the project has been a flurry of activity since construction started June 10.
“Sometimes it is a big inconvenience to the traveling public to shut a road down like this, but it allows us to get it done quicker, safer and for less cost,” Draths explained. “You can kind of put every dollar into the finished project right out of the gate.”
What could take six months or more to finish if the state required traffic flow, temporary roadway, and multiple stages instead can be finished in 2 ½, before the end of August.
That was welcome news to the three state lawmakers joining Draths and WTBA Director of Government Affairs Elise Nelson on the quick tour.
State Reps. Dan Knodl and Paul Melotik and State Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin took advantage of the relatively peaceful site to bounce questions off Draths and Nelson about work zone safety, transportation funding, project design, and industry workforce.
“I’m so glad you invited us because this really is relationship building,” Habush Sinykin said. “This is so much better than sitting, talking in an office. It’s great to see this investment.”
The $1.8 million investment is far from the busiest or grandest project lawmakers can see during this summer’s WTBA legislative tours across Wisconsin, but it’s an important one nonetheless – vastly improving safety at a place that once had poor sight lines and numerous crashes.
For that, Draths is thankful and proud to explain loud and clear: these small projects add up to make a big difference.
“There’s obviously way more of these that go on than the big ones. People can stop and appreciate this, the people who drive through this drive through it all the time,” Draths said. “It’s really good to get these built for the local communities.”
