OLT Root River Line - Flood Mitigation and Sustainability
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The Root River Line of the Oak Leaf Trail (OLT) Flood Mitigation and Sustainability Improvement Project will raise and rebuild a damaged, and often unpassable, section of trail:
- perennial flooding between Morgan and Howard Avenues has closed this area
- changing weather, flooding, and development likely combined to create these conditions post-construction
- standing water has degraded, cracked and caused the trail to sink
- the pavement is decimated, making it unrideable
- ponding is 10 feet wide, 10-50 feet long, and up to 12 inches deep
- the pavement is decimated, making it unrideable
Trail users have repeatedly contacted Milwaukee County Parks about this flooding. Some tell stories of taking off their shoes and socks to wade across when it's warm (the area adjacent is also marshy with no dry path available).
This project will raise and rebuild approximately 1/2 mile of trail:
- Parks first investigated fixing the trail in-house, but the project requires 2,300 feet of new trail
- this represents significant earth work that is beyond the scope of maintenance
- restoring this segment will return the OLT to a complete and connected network
Elevating the trail and reopening it will allow use of this OLT line to increase and for the network to function much better. In addition, this enhancement will support trips to nearby businesses and employment centers, including a YMCA.
Page last updated: 13 Apr 2024, 05:03 PM
Who's Listening
-
Project Owner
Phone 414-257-7275 Email parksplanning@milwaukeecountywi.gov
Having worked for the state I know it can take seemingly forever to get projects started. But the detour is dangerous, especially in non-ideal weather, non-ideal light, and times of increased traffic. As it has taken years so far, and is still in the planning stage, why not put some time into coming up with a temporary fix, such as road matting material, to serve until the repair work can be completed? Many are available: https://www.google.com/search?q=temporary+roadway+material&oq=temporary+roadway+material&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMggIAxAAGBYYHjINCAQQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAUQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAYQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAcQABiGAxiABBiKBdIBCjEzMzQ4ajBqMTWoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Unfortunately, I get the impression the segment of the Root River Line between Morgan and Howard avenues will not be repaired for the foreseeable future. It's too bad that the citizens of Milwaukee County have to look for an alternative walking/biking path when none exists. That means the adjoining segments, North and South, are also seeing a huge drop in daily traffic. The path has been in poor condition for years.
Unfortunately, the Root River Line between Morgan and Howard avenues show no indication of being repaired in the foreseeable future. It's been in poor condition for years. I would like to see it repaired in 2023 so the citizen's of Milwaukee County don't have to look for an alternative walking/biking route that doesn't exist.
What is the timeline of this project beyond just , someday when we feel like it? This is a highly used section of trail and pedestrians are put at risk because they have to travel S 116th to connect back with the trail. This seems like it should make it a higher priority than it has been. I have lived in the area for 8 years and it has been garbage for all 8. How can over half a million in a budget not push this forward quicker?