WisDOT looks at improvements to Ashland Avenue corridor

GREEN BAY – On April 9, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) hosted a public meeting to launch a new study of the WIS 32/Ashland Avenue corridor.

The study area involves a little over a half mile of Wisconsin Highway 32/Ashland Avenue from Mason Street to Ninth Street in the city of Green Bay.

The WisDOT called WIS 32/Ashland Avenue a “major arterial that connects I-41 and Ashwaubenon to downtown Green Bay” and is in the process of studying possible improvements to the segment of highway.

“This study will evaluate options to address the condition of the roadway and structures between 9th Street and WIS 54/Mason Street, which includes the 730-foot-long steel girder bridge over Sixth Street and the vacant Canadian National rail yard and the 114-foot-long slab span structure over Fifth Street,” a release from Wisconsin Department of Transportation Northeast Regional Communications Manager Mark Kantola stated.

“The purpose of the study is to address the condition of the WIS 32/Ashland Avenue roadway, the bridge spanning over the Canadian National Railroad rail yard and Fifth Street roadway and the adjacent retaining walls.”

The project needs are anticipated to include addressing the bridge condition, safety conditions and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.

Proposed concepts to be studied include no build and at-grade alternatives, bridge replacement with identical span and geometry and a refined span and geometry.

“Depending on the alternative selected, the proposed improvements may include: new roadway, new bridge and structures, new street grid connecting adjacent neighborhoods and new pedestrian and bicycle accommodations."

The next public meeting for the project will be held during the winter of 2025-26.

For that meeting, WisDOT will provide more defined concepts for improvement.

A potential timeline for the project would introduce the preliminary design in 2027; real estate, utilities and final design during 2028-30

Construction is currently scheduled for 2031, but could be advanced to end of 2030.

For more information or to provide feedback, visit wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/ne/32ashlandstudy/default.aspx.