The pavement structure for County Trunk Highway V (CTH V) located between STH 113 and CTH J in Columbia County has shown significant cracking, potholing and distress since the early 2000s. This segment of CTH V had a Wisconsin Information System Local Road (WISLR) rating of 6 in the year 2003, which put it on the County’s list of roads in need of maintenance. The pavement structure continued to deteriorate, resulting in several potholes and a WISLR rating of 4 in the year 2005. At that time, the Columbia County Highway and Transportation Department received several phone calls from area motorists complaining about the safety hazards associated with the poor pavement structure.

Since this segment of roadway had seen a significant amount of surface maintenance in the past, the Highway Department knew that the entire pavement structure must be replaced in order to fully address this issue. Because of this, they submitted for Rural Surface Transportation (STP) funds in June of 2005 for this segment of CTH V.

As the roadway continued to pose safety hazards to the traveling public, in June of 2006 the Highway Department placed a 1 ½ inch asphalt overlay on the roadway between Old Sauk Road and Red Cedar Drive as one last “quick fix” to provide an acceptable roadway surface until additional funding was available to fully reconstruct the roadway.

The deteriorating pavement structure was what ultimately led to dedication of STP funds for this project; however, there are several sub-standard/undesirable roadway features within the project area that should also be addressed. Some of these include:

• Sub-standard intersection sight distance at the CTH V – STH 113 intersection
• Sub-standard CTH V – railroad crossing
• Sub-standard shoulder widths
• No roadway ditches to address stormwater runoff
• Unprotected steep side slopes within the roadway clear zone
• No bicycle/pedestrian accommodations within a highly recreational area
• Undesirable geometric intersection configurations
• Uncontrolled access
• Sub-standard horizontal and vertical curves
• Structurally deficient bridge spanning the Wisconsin River

It is the desire of the Columbia County Highway and Transportation Department to not only provide a long-term improvement to the pavement structure but to also address other roadway deficiencies as noted above as a part of this Rural STP project. If not addressed, these substandard design features will continue to pose safety concerns to the traveling public, which will become more problematic as traffic volumes continue to increase in the area.