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Engineering

Lake Mendota Drive

April 18, 2024 Update

Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 3 (Epworth Ct to Spring Harbor Dr) is scheduled to begin construction the week of May 6, 2024. S&L Underground is the awarded contractor on this project. MG&E’s gas replacement on LMD will begin prior to this date, likely in mid-April. Below is a Fact and Details Sheet for this project, including important construction information and key contact resources for residents during construction.

The Spring Harbor Beach Parking Lot at 5417 Lake Mendota Drive will be available for overnight parking for impacted residents on a first-come, first-served basis during construction activities that require residents to be out of their driveways for an extended period (concrete work). Residents who use this option for overnight parking should try and be out of the parking lot by 10am each day to leave parking space available for beach visitors.

Construction Fact Sheet

Overview Exhibit
Proposed Parking Plan

View past project updates »

Project Details

  • Location

    • 5606 Lake Mendota Drive
      Madison, WI 53705

  • Project Type

  • Status

    Construction

  • Estimated Schedule

    –

  • Alder District

    District 19

  • Contract Number

    8743

Project Information

Project Overview

The City of Madison is planning to reconstruct Lake Mendota Dr. Due to the size/scope of the work, this work will be completed over several years, with work being completed on several blocks each year. In 2022, work is planned for the western most blocks, in 2023, the eastern blocks, and the middle blocks in 2024.

In general, the reconstruction projects will include replacement of underground City utilities, especially storm sewer and sanitary sewer, and reconstruction of the street infrastructure (pavement, gravel base) along with any curb or sidewalk installations that are approved for the project(s). We have received many complaints from residents regarding the pavement condition along Lake Mendota Dr., and it has deteriorated to a point where periodic maintenance patching is no longer viable, so the streets will need to be reconstructed to provide a ridable surface for all users.

The City of Madison is committed to providing safe, reliable, and equitable transportation options for all residents. Sidewalks are vital to fulfilling this commitment, and their importance is well documented in the variety of plans and policies that have been adopted by the City, which help guide the design of all of our projects. In particular, this includes the Madison in Motion Transportation Plan, the Imagine Madison Comprehensive Plan, and Vision Zero. Sidewalks provide a safe space for all pedestrians to use and improve accessibility to the parks and schools in the area, and will provide the option to make short trips without using a vehicle. Whether you’re walking for transportation or recreation, pushing a stroller, a kid trying to get to school, or if you’re using a mobility aid, you should have facilities available to be able to do those activities safely and comfortably.

While there have not been a large number of crashes along Lake Mendota Dr. (6 since 2016), whenever the City proceeds with a significant project, we always review opportunities to improve safety and accessibility. Crash history does help guide our budgeting and project selection process, but, even though this project was scheduled primarily due to the pavement condition and drainage needs, it’s still important to review the project for possible safety improvements. These types of reconstruction projects and investments only occur once every several decades, so it would be irresponsible to ignore known safety and accessibility issues.

The Common Council approved the street geometrics for Lake Mendota Dr. on April 19, 2022. We believe that this approved plan provides a unique design for Lake Mendota Dr. that meets the City’s transportation goals, along with giving strong consideration to the environment including preservation of the tree canopy. As with all projects, protecting the existing tree canopy is a priority with this project, which is also important for maintaining the character of the neighborhood. With the project, the approved street design includes a reduced width and sidewalks, which results in an overall reduction in impervious area within the right-of-way.

Lake Mendota Dr. is currently a salt route for the City streets crews. Engineering, Streets, and Water Utility have collaborated on this project, and our Streets Division has come up with a couple of different options to significantly scale back the use of salt on the streets in the area. At a minimum, just be reducing the street width, this would allow any portions of Lake Mendota Dr. that remain salted to be done so with a single pass instead of 2. On sidewalks, individual property owners will have several options for clearing snow/ice that don’t involve salt use, options that can more easily be done on a smaller scale on their specific sections of sidewalk rather than on a larger scale, such as the entire street width. Also, we encourage any property owners that may hire contractors for snow removal on this sidewalks and driveways to consider hiring contractors that are certified salt applicators. Additionally, providing safe transportation options that allow people to make short trips by not using a car is also an important aspect of our sustainability goals.

Assessments 

We certainly understand that the assessments for these types of projects can be a burden to adjacent property owners.  For this reason, we have established a safe-routes grant that will cover 50% of the costs of any new sidewalks installed, and we can also request that the pay-back period for the assessments be extended out to 15 years, instead of the standard 8 years.  Additionally, the City offers financing to eligible home owners to assist with assessment payments.  More information on that program can be found on the City’s Office of Community Development website.
Proposed 2022 Assessments
Proposed 2023 Assessments

Project Limits

2022: Lake Mendota Dr. from Baker Ave. to Epworth Ct., and Capital Ave. from Lake Mendota Dr. to the lake

2023: Lake Mendota Dr. from Spring Harbor to the City/Village limits

2024: Lake Mendota Dr. from Epworth Ct. to Spring Harbor, and Norman Way from Lake Mendota Dr. to the lake

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 and times are indicated below:

Public Information Meetings

Thank you to everyone who has given feedback and input so far on this project. We’re grateful for your comments, calls, suggestions and feedback. We also want to provide more opportunities to you to share your information in the process as the design moves forward. This includes additional public meetings, as well as presentations to the Transportation Commission, Board of Public Works, and the Common Council.  The dates and times for all of these meetings will be updated on the project page.  The Transportation Commission provided some initial input at the meeting on January 12, and their recommendation was to move forward with a preliminary design that includes sidewalks.  We certainly welcome all feedback on the project, but major policy decisions, such as the installation of sidewalks, need to consider the City’s adopted plans and policies along with the recommendations of the City’s committees.

Questionnaire

Lake Mendota Drive Electronic Questionnaire No. 1 results

City Process, Meetings

  • Transportation Commission: 1/12/22 – as a key decision making body on these types of projects, initial input from the Commission was received at this meeting
  • Transportation Commission: 3/9/22 – Commission received comments from the public and provided input on the project
  • Board of Public Works: 4/6/22 - present proposed base street design for LMD (approving geometrics) - approved, with a recommendation to TC to consider sidewalks on one side between Norman and Capital
  • Transportation Commission: 4/13/22 - present proposed base street design for LMD (approving geometrics) - approved, with sidewalks on both sides between Norman and Capital
  • Common Council: 4/19/22 - approving geometrics - approved, with sidewalks on both sides between Norman and Capital
  • Board of Public Works: 5/11/22 - public hearing on 2022 project only, approved
  • Common Council: 5/24/22 - public hearing on 2022 project only, approved
  • Board of Public Works: 11/2/22 - public hearing on 2023 project only
  • Common Council: 11/22/22 - public hearing on 2023 project only
  • Board of Public Works: 01/10/2024 – Public Hearing for 2024 project only
  • Common Council: 01/23/2024 – Public Hearing for 2024 project only

Mailings

Project Updates

Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 3 (Epworth Ct to Spring Harbor Dr) is scheduled to begin construction the week of May 6, 2024. S&L Underground is the awarded contractor on this project. MG&E’s gas replacement on LMD will begin prior to this date, likely in mid-April. Below is a Fact and Details Sheet for this project, including important construction information and key contact resources for residents during construction.

The Spring Harbor Beach Parking Lot at 5417 Lake Mendota Drive will be available for overnight parking for impacted residents on a first-come, first-served basis during construction activities that require residents to be out of their driveways for an extended period (concrete work). Residents who use this option for overnight parking should try and be out of the parking lot by 10am each day to leave parking space available for beach visitors.

Construction Fact Sheet

Overview Exhibit
Proposed Parking Plan

Phase 3 Update

Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 3 (Epworth Ct to Spring Harbor Dr) will be going to the Board of Public Works for approval on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. Registration for the BPW Public Hearing can be found on the City Clerk webpage (https://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk), registration is usually available within a week of the meeting date. A BPW Public Hearing Notice, Project Fact Sheet and Preliminary Assessments will be mailed to property owners within the project limits prior to this meeting. 

Following the Public Meeting on November 30th, City Forestry has determined that the Ash Tree at 5431 Lake Mendota Dr will be preserved. To accommodate this, the street design has been tweaked to include a curb and sidewalk bump-out around this tree, acting as a chicane for traffic-calming to motor vehicles. This had a small impact to the proposed parking layout, reducing the number of proposed parking spaces in this phase from 47 to 43. This chicane was part of the initial approved geometry layout for all of Lake Mendota Drive (approved in April 2022). 

An updated overview exhibit for this project and an exhibit of the proposed on-street parking can be found below. 

Overview Exhibit
Proposed Parking Plan

Thank you to everyone who attended the Public Information Meeting, Nov. 30, 2023 for Phase 3 of Lake Mendota Drive. The meeting materials are now available:

Watch the recording:

Phase 3

The Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 3 Reconstruction (Epworth Ct to Spring Harbor Dr) is scheduled for construction in 2024. There will be a virtual public information meeting 6 p.m., Nov. 30, 2023. Registration prior is required. 

Nov. 30, 2023 Public Information Meeting Registration

A project questionnaire is available for Phase 3. Please fill out the questionnaire by 4 p.m., Dec. 15, 2023. 

Lake Mendota Drive Questionnaire

A hard copy of the questionnaire has been mailed to residents directly within the project limits. If you would like to request a hard copy of the questionnaire, please contact the Project Engineer, Aaron Canton, at 608-242-4763 or acanton@cityofmadison.com.

Phase 2

The Contractor has substantially completed all work on Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 2. The Contractor is under a year-long warranty for the new street and utilities, the Inspector will review the project area next Spring/Summer for any work that needs be redone. 

Phase 1

This project is complete. 

Phase 2 Update

The Contractor is planning to pave the first layer of asphalt in the section from Merrill Springs Rd to the easterly project limits on Thursday, October 5th. Once the rollers have gone over the new pavement, it is drive-able with 3-4 hours. Concrete work on the remaining section will begin the week of October 9th, notices will be posted to individual residents prior to any driveway restrictions. Landscaping restoration will continue in areas once concrete work is complete, and mailboxes will be reinstalled per USPS guidelines. If you would like to request an alternative mailbox be reinstalled (in place of the old one), please contact Aaron Canton (contact info on this side of this project page).

Phase 1 Update

The Contractor has completed work on Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 1 (Baker Ave to Epworth Ct) and Traffic Engineering is completing their signing of the street.

Phase 3 Update

The City will start public engagement for Lake Mendota Drive: Phase 3 (Epworth Ct to Spring Harbor Dr) this Fall/Winter. Impacted residents will receive notification in the mail for future meetings.

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