Wisconsin Dells is a much beloved and highly trafficked tourism area, host to over 4 million visitors annually within an approximate 20-square-mile area. The community is also home to over 5,500 permanent residents, resulting in a unique obligation to meet both traditional day-to-day residential needs as well as immense seasonal influx.

In late 2017, the City hired MSA to evaluate a multiple-block section of the downtown area that consisted of deteriorating street and public utility infrastructure. The area sees a great deal of congestion, funneling traffic to local amenities such as the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau, Wisconsin Dells Municipal Building, JustAgame Fieldhouse, local post office, school, church and park.

MSA immediately began planning for the extensive reconstruction by assisting the City with a successful Local Road Improvement (LRIP) grant application to offset some of the overall project cost. Full-service design began in November, 2018, with project letting in March, 2019. The extensive project was segmented into three construction stages to accommodate access to local businesses, emergency service response vehicles, pedestrians and seasonal increases in traffic volume.

MSA assisted the City with all facets of the project including design, bidding, construction administration, construction staking and layout, surveying, property acquisition, and construction observation. Key project elements included the installation of a multi-leg mini roundabout at a previously geometrically challenged intersection, pavement design of high-volume urban street sections over marginal subgrade material, rerouting one of the City’s major 21-inch sanitary sewer interceptor mains while maintaining uninterrupted service to the existing interceptor, water main replacement and additional looping for improved system performance, upsizing stormwater infrastructure to alleviate localized flooding in the lower reaches of the urban drainage basin, and converting an unimproved overflow parking area around City Hall into permanent parking that is now included in the City’s parking utility as revenue-producing permanent parking.

The Wisconsin Dells mini roundabout and infrastructure upgrades were completed on time and on budget, with results that yield immense transportation improvements and holistic system upgrades to boost fun and function in the heart of tourism country. This project was awarded a Public Works Project of the Year Award in the Small Cities/Rural Communities Category by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Public Works Association.