News: Colby (Highway 13 Construction - 1985)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surname: Brey

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, WI) 12/02/2015

Originally published in the Tribune-Phonograph, Wednesday, December 4, 1985

Colby to set meeting on Hwy. 13

The Colby City Council wants to ban parking on Hwy. 13 after reconstruction in 1987, and also has to make other changes in the street.

Residents will be invited to a public meeting early in 1986 to talk about the project.

That was decided Tuesday after the aldermen spoke with engineer George Brey, who is helping the city coordinate utility and other work to be done in 1986 before the highway through town is redone the following year.

Although some residents might question why parking should be eliminated from the highway, they will probably agree once the financial aspects of the situation are explained. The state will only pay for construction of traffic lanes. Parking lanes must be paid for by local municipalities. If Colby wants to retain parking on the highway, it would have to kick in about $450,000.

That is obviously an unrealistic amount for the municipality, and it is likely the city will buy up some parcels in the ae and convert them to parking lots at a fraction of the cost.

Brey said water main conflicts are also a problem. There are 30 to 40 spots at which the existing water line lied and the state’s plans for its storm sewer are at odds. But, he said the water man itself may have to be moved.

In spots, 18 inches will be taken of the elevation of the highway, and that will leave that water main only three and a half to five feet deep. That puts it in danger of freezing.