Highland Avenue Railroad Crossing Replacement

Project Overview

Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) plans to replace the deteriorating railroad crossing on Highland Avenue between Campus Drive and the VA driveway. The existing asphalt crossing will be replaced with newer-style concrete panels, which are significantly more durable and are expected to last 20 years or more.

Closure and Construction Schedule

The work will require a full closure of Highland Avenue at the railroad tracks for approximately five days, from Friday, October 9 through Tuesday, October 13. Highland Avenue is expected to reopen by Wednesday, October 14.

WSOR plans to work through the weekend to complete the project as quickly as possible and to take advantage of lower weekend traffic volumes. Work will generally occur during daytime hours. Overnight work is not planned due to nearby residences, hospital patients, and hotel guests.

The railroad tracks are installed as continuous pieces across the entire street to avoid joints within the roadway that could eventually fail under traffic. Because of this construction method, Highland Avenue must be fully closed at the railroad crossing during the work, including both sidewalks. This is the same construction process that has been used for many other railroad crossing replacements throughout the city.

Vehicle Traffic

During the closure, the City will implement traffic routing and intersection modifications similar to those used during the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) sewer project in this area last summer.

The southbound Highland Avenue U-turn at the VA driveway will again be implemented, and lane designations will be modified at the Highland Avenue/Observatory Drive intersection.

The City will monitor traffic conditions using live traffic cameras and make signal timing adjustments as needed to help manage congestion during the closure.

The Campus Drive on- and off-ramps will remain open throughout the project.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Access

Both sidewalks across the railroad tracks will be closed during construction. Pedestrians will be detoured around the work zone to Walnut Street using the bike path and University Avenue.

The bike path immediately north of the railroad tracks will remain open during construction.

Project Coordination

The construction schedule has been coordinated with WSOR, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Health, and the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital to minimize impacts as much as possible.

Additional project updates will be posted on this webpage as information becomes available.

Project Limits

The work zone is limited to the railroad tracks between the Campus Drive ramps and the bike path.  The Campus Drive Off and On Ramps will remain open.  The bike path just north of the tracks will also remain open. 

Project Schedule

5:00 a.m., Oct. 9, 2026-5 a.m., Oct. 14, 2026 (5 days)

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

There are no public information meetings scheduled for this project.
​​​