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WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) -- A recommendation has been made to Wausau officials about Thomas Street. The east-west artery with a bridge over the Wisconsin River gets a lot of traffic, and most of it is presently a two-lane street.
The Capital Improvements and Street Maintenance Committee passed their recommendation to city council calling for a plan with four lanes of traffic from Third Avenue to the river, and two lanes plus turn lanes elsewhere. The price tag will be between 10 and 15 million dollars.
The plan was recommended by a consultant, and was not easy to pass. Wausau council and committee members agree something needs to be done, but they’ve spent over a decade trying to decide exactly what to do. This part four-lane and part two-lane concept got out of committee on a narrow 3-2 vote Thursday.
City officials still have to decide which of the three road sections gets built first. There is already a plan to put a thin layer of blacktop over the deteriorating pavement to make the old road last a little longer.
The committee also voted 4-1 to buy more properties on Thomas Street for the future expansion, to have enough room for the road and some economic development.