Transportation Transformation on Wilson Street Corridor: Celebrate Completion with City Ribbon Cutting Aug. 20
posted
The City of Madison Engineering Division would like to invite the community to join the city for a ribbon cutting, 9 a.m., Aug. 20, 2025, at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Wilson Street, in the plaza space leading to the Monona Terrace.
The event will be brief. The event is open to the public to attend.
City staff, Alders, and stakeholders will speak before cutting the ribbon to officially mark the completion of a number of significant reconstruction projects in the corridor that has spanned over nearly a decade of planning, designing and construction.
Construction Progress Over the Years
The city completed the first phase of reconstructing Wilson Street in 2018 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Henry Street/Hamilton Street) and another phase in 2019 (Franklin Street to Blair Street). Then, with even larger projects scheduled, the city began a corridor planning process, which was completed in 2021 after some delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, additional work was completed within the Wilson Street/Blair Street/Williamson Street/John Nolen Drive intersection. The City of Madison Engineering Division then completed a major reconstruction and transformational project on Wilson Street from Henry Street/Hamilton Street to S. Bassett Street, which also included some modifications to the lanes on the portion completed in 2018, and also included updates to blocks of Bassett Street and Broom Street to better connect our bike network.
In 2024 and 2025, the city has completed work on the last portion of Wilson Street (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Franklin Street), completing the transportation transformation of the Wilson corridor. Throughout this time, there have also been several large redevelopment projects along the corridor that have been coordinated with all of the street reconstruction projects.
“Wilson Street is such a critical transportation corridor to connect downtown with John Nolen Drive and the primary bike trails through the city, including the Capital City Trail and the Southwest Path,” City Engineer Jim Wolfe said. “Prior to these projects, access to downtown by bicycle could be challenging, with primarily just shared lanes on streets and on streets with steep hills. Wilson Street now provides a good option for people of all ages and abilities, without sacrificing any of the other important uses of the street. It will now more broadly serve all of the residents, visitors, and businesses that use Wilson Street now and into the future.”
Budget Over the Years
- 2018 Wilson/Henry/Hamilton reconstruction: $2.2M
- 2019 Wilson/Williamson reconstruction: $2.7M
- 2020 MLK Blvd Sidewalks connected to region: $1.3M
- 2022 Blair/JND/Wilson/Williamson Intersection: $3.4M (Federal funding used, WisDOT construction contract)
- 2023 Wilson/Broom/Bassett/Henry: $4.1M
- 2024/2025 Wilson/Doty: $4.5M
Media should confirm attendance with Engineering Division Public Information Officer Hannah Mohelnitzky, hmohelnitzky@cityofmadison.com.
Departments:
