Colfax waiting for information on curb and gutter, sidewalk replacement for 2026 Hwy. 40 project
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Residents who live along state Highway 40 in Colfax will have to wait a while yet to find out more information about replacing their sidewalks during next year’s road project.
Before the Village of Colfax can send out letters to property owners along Highway 40 about sidewalk replacement in 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will have to supply more information, said Mitch Nichols of Ayres Associates at the Colfax Village Board’s March 10 meeting.
Rand Bates, director of public works, had asked Nichols to attend the village board meeting to give some insight about what costs the village might expect from the DOT’s project.
There is 11,680 feet of curb and gutter along Highway 40 “that’s shot” and needs to be replaced, Bates told the village board.
Nichols said he did not have information about the state’s unit pricing, so any municipal prices he might be able to estimate could be different from the state’s project.
The Village of Colfax pays 40 percent of the cost of replacing sidewalks, Bates noted.
If the village sends a letter to residents now, they will want to know what the cost will be, and the village will need to know, too, he said.
The village’s policy is that when residents request cost-sharing on replacing sidewalks, the resident should make the request the year before the work is completed so the village board will know how much money to include in the budget the following year to reimburse for sidewalks.
Site plans
Nichols said he would have to see the state’s site plans to know whether the state is planning to mill Highway 40 and then put down an overlay of asphalt or whether the state is planning to change the grade of Highway 40.
During an informational meeting February 18, Dexter Kaetterhenry, a consultant design engineer for WisDOT, said that in the rural areas, 2.5 inches of asphalt will be removed and will be replaced with 3.75 inches of asphalt.
In the urban areas, 3.14 inches of asphalt will be removed and will be replaced with 3.14 inches of asphalt, Kaetterhenry had said.
There will be cost sharing between the village and WisDOT, but there could be some give and take on the percentage of the cost sharing, Nichols told the village board at the March 10 meeting..
If WisDOT will be changing the grade of the road, then WisDOT might say that the state will pay 100 percent of the cost of replacing a sidewalk, he said.
Nichols said he had reviewed the village’s ordinance, and when the village rebuilds a street, then the village pays the entire cost of replacing sidewalks, but when a new residential subdivision is being built, then the developer pays the cost of installing sidewalks.
If WisDOT labels the Highway 40 project as a reconstruction, then Nichols said he did not know if the state could legally charge the residents for sidewalks.
If WisDOT brings a curb and gutter machine to lay curb and gutter, then the sidewalks will have to be replaced, Nichols said.
In the business section of Colfax, the sidewalk most likely will have to be replaced, he said.
What about talking with the project manager? asked Gary Stene, village trustee.
The project manager would know more about the municipal part of the project through Colfax, Nichols said.
First plan
Originally the village was told that the village would be responsible for replacing one or two inches of asphalt on the parking lanes to the curb and gutter, Bates said.
At the last meeting with WisDOT, representatives for the DOT said there would be cost sharing, but “we do not know what it is,” he said.
Usually WisDOT designs the full section with cost sharing, Nichols said.
“It was not our idea to do the road. We are responding to a DOT project,” Stene said.
When WisDOT repaved Highway 40 the last time, the project manager was good to work with, he said, adding that this time around, he got the impression that instead of a state employee, the project manager would be someone who is consulting with WisDOT.
When the village finds out what WisDOT’s intentions are for Highway 40 through Colfax, then the village can say, “your design is causing us to do X, Y and Z, so we need to cost share,” Nichols said.
“I think there is room to talk to them,” he said.
Carrie Brown, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, said she had talked to a representative at WisDOT and had been told that the village should start applying now for Local Road Improvement Program funds (LRIP).
The application period for LRIP money started on March 15, and even though Colfax does not have the final numbers on cost sharing, the WisDOT representative suggested that the village should start looking at funding sources, Brown said.
Sidewalk ramps
Anne Jenson, village trustee, asked why WisDOT wanted to buy the sidewalk ramps that are installed for handicapped accessibility.
The sidewalk ramps have to be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Nichols said, adding that he believed WisDOT wanted to purchase the sidewalk ramps along Highway 40 so WisDOT can do any updating as needed.
The ADA changes frequently, and if WisDOT owns the sidewalk ramps, then WisDOT is responsible for making them ADA compliant, he said.
If the state owns the sidewalk ramps, then WisDOT can make the sidewalk ramps ADA compliant without having to go back to the property owners every time, Brown said.
The question that needs an answer soon is whether to assess the sidewalks to the property owners, Bates said.
The sidewalks should be on the tax roll, because some areas of the village are never going to have curb and gutter and sidewalks, and sidewalks benefit everyone in the village, Stene said.
“This is a big deal for a small town,” he said, adding that WisDOT’s last Highway 40 project was in 2004.
Nicols reiterated that he believed “there was discussion to be had” with the state and that the village should not send out any letters right now about sidewalks.
TIF district
Jeff Prince, village president, asked about the village’s ability to use money from the Tax Increment Finance District for any cost sharing on the Highway 40 project.
Nichols said it was his understanding that TIF districts were set up to help promote development and growth in a city or village.
In a TIF district, the property taxes generated by new development are placed into a special account for about 20 years. The taxing authorities in the TIF district — the municipality, the county, the school district and the technical college district — still receive the property taxes on the base value in the TIF district.
The money in the TIF district account can be used to pay for additional infrastructure improvements that will help to encourage additional development.
Whether TIF district funds could be used for the Highway 40 project would be a question for Ehlers, Stene said.
Ehlers Inc. is the village’s financial consultant.
Colfax used TIF money last time Highway 40 was reconstructed because the TIF district was a blighted district, Stene said.
“We need an expert to tell us,” he said.
