Madison Municipal Building with native purple flowers in planter
Engineering

Davies Street and Dempsey Road Reconstruction

November 8, 2024 Update

The Contractor has completed work on both the Davies St and Dempsey Rd. There are a number of private utility items (poles or cabinet) in the way of the concrete sidewalk, these items will be moved by the responsibility party and the concrete sidewalk and surrounding landscaping will be completed at the same time. We anticipate this remaining work will occur this Fall 2024. 

View past project updates »

Project Details

  • Location

    • 302 Davies Street
      Madison, WI 53716

  • Project Type

  • Status

    Completed

  • Estimated Schedule

    –

  • Impact

    Minor

  • Alder District

    • District 15

  • Contract Number

Project Information

Project Overview

The City plans to reconstruct Davies St and Dempsey Rd between Buckeye Rd and Cottage Grove Rd. The proposed project includes replacement of underground utilities (water main, sanitary sewer, storm sewer) as well as replacement/installation of street infrastructure (roadway base, asphalt pavement, curb & gutter, sidewalk, shared-use path). The final proposed design includes a 26-ft wide street (two, 11-ft lanes with 2-ft gutters), a 10-ft wide shared-use path on the westerly-side of the road, 5-ft sidewalk on the easterly-side, and varying grass terrace widths between the path/sidewalk and the street. The shared-use path will continue the path on the northerly-side of Cottage Grove and provide an all ages & abilities bike route along the popular Lake (Monona) Loop Route. Path lighting will also be installed on the westerly-side terrace along the future path from Cottage Grove Rd to Maher Ave. Existing street lighting on Davies St will be upgraded to improve distribution along the future path.

Davies Street and Dempsey Road Overview

Project Fact Sheet

Want to hear from the project manager? Listen to our 16-minute discussion with Engineer and Project Manager Aaron Canton in our Everyday Engineering Podcast Episode: Orange Barrels: Davies Street and Dempsey Road Reconstruction:

Project Limits

Davies Street: Buckeye Road to Maher Avenue

Dempsey Road: Maher Avenue to Cottage Grove Road

Project Schedule

Anticipated Bid Date: March 2023

Construction Timeframe

Phase One: Davies St (Buckeye Rd to south of Maher Ave): July 2023 – October 2023
Phase Two: Dempsey Rd (Maher Ave to Cottage Grove Rd): April 2024 – August 2024.

Public Involvement

There are a number of points of contact during this project where the public is encouraged to give feedback as part of public information meetings and public hearings. Dates, times and locations are indicated below:

Public Information Meetings

City Meetings, Process

Transportation Commission: 02/08/2023

Board of Public Works: 02/22/2023

Common Council: 03/07/2023

Mailings

Public Informational Meeting Letter and Project Survey
Common Council: Public Hearing Notice and Schedule of Assessments
Adopted Resolution Mailing: Cover Letter, Finance Letter, Resolution
Start Construction Notice:  Letter  and Fact and Details Sheet

Project Updates

November 8, 2024 Update

The Contractor has completed work on both the Davies St and Dempsey Rd. There are a number of private utility items (poles or cabinet) in the way of the concrete sidewalk, these items will be moved by the responsibility party and the concrete sidewalk and surrounding landscaping will be completed at the same time. We anticipate this remaining work will occur this Fall 2024. 

June 11, 2024 Update

The City Contractor will return to work on Dempsey Rd the week of the June 24th for the final grading of the roadway. It is anticipated that private utilities will be in the area doing their relocations along Dempsey Rd during this time. The project will be completed as scheduled by the end of July. Project updates for concrete work and asphalt paving timelines will be posted to this project page once known. 

March 8, 2024 Update

The Contractor is planning to begin work on Dempsey Rd from Maher Ave to Cottage Grove Rd the week of March 11, 2024. Private utilities have already begun work on Dempsey Rd in preparation for the larger City project. 

The work on Dempsey Rd will continue until early-August 2024. During the entirety of construction, Dempsey Rd (between Cottage Grove Rd and Maher Ave) will be closed to thru-traffic but local access to residents will be maintained. Metro buses will be detoured off of Dempsey Rd and Davies St (between Cottage Grove and Buckeye Rd). In addition, the lake loop bicycle route will be detoured off of Dempsey Rd during the entirety of construction, a detour route will be signed in advance of the closure, below is a PDF map of the lake loop detour. 

Lake Loop Detour

Work will begin with sewer connections in the Dempsey Rd & Cottage Grove Rd intersection. Two-way traffic will be maintained on Cottage Grove at all times, though there will be lane closures on Cottage Grove Rd for the Contractor to complete their work.

March 4, 2024 Update

*Updated start work date from previous email update.

The Contractor is planning to begin work on Dempsey Rd from Maher Ave to Cottage Grove Rd the week of March 11, 2024. Private utilities have already begun work on Dempsey Rd in preparation for the larger City project. 

 

The work on Dempsey Rd will continue until early-August 2024. During the entirety of construction, Dempsey Rd (between Cottage Grove Rd and Maher Ave) will be closed to thru-traffic but local access to residents will be maintained. Metro buses will be detoured off of Dempsey Rd and Davies St (between Cottage Grove and Buckeye Rd). In addition, the lake loop bicycle route will be detoured off of Dempsey Rd during the entirety of construction, a detour route will be signed in advance of the closure. 

 

Work will begin with sewer connections in the Dempsey Rd & Cottage Grove Rd intersection. Two-way traffic will be maintained on Cottage Grove at all times, though there will be lane closures on Cottage Grove Rd for the Contractor to complete their work.

October 16, 2023 Update

The Contractor is planning to asphalt pave Davies St (from Buckeye Rd to South of Maher Ave) the week of Monday, October 16. Paving should occur on both the roadway and off-street path, as well as any remaining driveway areas. Once the rollers have gone over the new pavement, it is drive-able within 3-4 hours. Terrace restoration, pavement markings, and signage on Davies St will follow in the coming weeks.

Phase 2 (Dempsey Rd from Phase 1 limits to Cottage Grove Rd) will begin in early-Spring 2024. Impacted residents will receive a construction notice prior to that work beginning. It is anticipated that MG&E will be doing electrical undergrounding work this prior to the larger project continuing next Spring.

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