The Process Behind Road Construction

Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works strives to maintain nearly 1,400 miles of city streets, about 4,000 alleys, and approximately 2,500 miles of sidewalk through paving projects and routine maintenance.

There are multiple ways in which a street, alley or sidewalk gets flagged for improvement:

• Field observation by City employees
• Aldermanic/Citizen request or complaint (call center data)
• Road Matrix Pavement Management System Pavement Quality Index (PQI) Ratings (roadways only)
• Pavement Core Samples (roadways only)

Once a location has been flagged as in need of repair, it is included in the database as a possible candidate for improvement.

When residents contact DPW, they check this database to see whether a project is already scheduled for that area, and if it isn’t, street maintenance will assess the problem and perform patching as necessary then may recommend further corrective action for future larger-scale construction. These potential paving projects are reviewed as a whole on a regular basis, and updated to reflect their priority based on condition and needs of the City and Aldermanic District.

Projects on non-neighborhood streets, called arterials and collectors, are often funded with state and federal aid. These larger and more complex projects are managed in the Major Projects Section, and must be completed through an agreement and approval process with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The complexity of designing these larger streets, the process of obtaining federal and state funding, and additional process and outreach requirements associated with federal funding results in these projects taking longer to complete than residential street projects.

Projects on local neighborhood or residential streets, and alleys, are funded by the City of Milwaukee budget. If a street is in poor enough condition, it requires reconstruction or rehabilitation under Local Program funding. If not, it may be a candidate for a High Impact Treatment. In response to limited capital funding and increasing numbers of potholes, the City initiated the High Impact Street Program in 2013. The High Impact Street Program uses a minimally invasive resurfacing approach which leaves the street with an excellent driving surface at approximately 1/3 of the cost of full street reconstruction. The lower cost allows the City to improve nearly three times more mileage than traditional reconstruction methods. Street segments selected for the High Impact Street Program are typically high traffic connecting roads or roads serving commercial districts, with the intent of improving driving surfaces for the largest volume of drivers possible. Street segments that have been paved through the High Impact Street Program will typically have a smooth pothole-free driving surface for many years after the street is resurfaced. Over $50 million of City funding has been allocated to the High Impact Streets Program since its inception in 2013, including $7 million in 2023.

These City programs have limited dollars. In recent years, the rising cost of construction has limited the number of alley reconstruction projects to eight locations per year. This averages out to one alley reconstruction per aldermanic district every other year. Only 13-15 miles of roadway receive high impact paving and approximately 4 miles of roadway are reconstructed or rehabilitated through the City of Milwaukee Budget annually.

Before the first shovel of dirt is even turned, some preliminary engineering has to be taken care of. If preliminary engineering is not already available for a project, the Milwaukee Common Council has to pass a resolution authorizing funding for it. Then, the City’s engineering team gets to work developing a plan. They are tasked with determining whether the project can simply be resurfaced with asphalt or whether it is in need of total reconstruction, and the type of work based on its location.

Once an estimate has been prepared on the quantities and costs of a project, a public hearing is scheduled. Prior to the hearing, most of the alderpersons will conduct a postcard survey or may hold a night meeting to determine if a project has support from the neighborhood. If a project is approved, it will be grouped into a contract based on the type of work and its location. If a project isn’t approved, it may be reconsidered in future years with the support of the local Alderperson.

The DPW Construction Division prepares specifications and then advertises for bids on the approved projects, and the contractor who submits the low bid then does the work based on their own schedule. The work typically does not begin until after abutting and adjacent property owners in the affected areas are notified of the upcoming projects.

In the case of street resurfacing projects, crews begin by carrying out any needed utility work on sewers or private utilities. Throughout the duration of the project, some residents will have access to their driveways or alleys, except for the few hours when equipment or work is directly blocking the route. Crews remove sidewalks, curbs, gutters and even part or all of some driveway approaches, then get to
work replacing those. Finally, they prepare the existing pavement for the placement of asphalt and resurface the road.

However, full street reconstruction can be a bit more disruptive to everyday life, as it typically requires more utility replacements and for the stretch to be completely closed to traffic. Crews will perform utility work then remove the old roadway, along with the curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and driveway approaches. After that the project ready to be completed with a brand new asphalt or concrete.

Many neighbors report concerns with what they perceive to be prolonged periods of inactivity in their neighborhood construction sites. There are several possible explanations, including weather and time needed to allow new surfaces to cure or harden.

It is important to note that street paving projects are awarded on a low-bid contract that sets a fixed cost for the project. Contractors usually face penalties for delays and work that goes past a certain set deadline. Included in the contract is a penalty per day if the number of work days or the completion date is exceeded. Inactivity at a project site does not necessarily mean that the project is not moving forward; inactivity does NOT mean the project is costing the city (and taxpayers) more.

Payment and Funding Process for Street and Alley Reconstruction

In the not-too-distant past, when local roads and neighborhood side streets in Milwaukee were reconstructed curb to curb, the bill for the work was a 50/50 split with the city paying for 50% and abutting property owners paying 50%. The implementation of the Vehicle Registration Fee has eliminated that 50/50 split, and today the city uses property tax levy and wheel tax funds to cover the entire bill for
local road/side street reconstruction. NOTE: Driveway approaches and sidewalk squares replaced as part of a local road/side street reconstruction projects are NOT covered by the city; there is a 50/50 sidewalk split and 90/10 for driveway approaches for those costs.

For alley reconstruction projects, there is a 50/50 split, with the city paying 50% and abutting property owners playing about 50%. All alley reconstruction projects go before the Public Works Committee during a public hearing. If an alley reconstruction project is approved by the committee, all abutting property owners will be assessed. A bill will not be sent to property owners until 2 years after the committee approval of the project. When a property owner receives a bill, they will have 45 days to pay their entire assessable portion of the bill, or they may opt to split the cost over 10 years as a 1/10 payment added to their property tax bill. For property owners who choose this option, there is a small interest charge (prime lending rate plus a 1%). This rate is adjusted annually. This cost assessment payment process also applies to assessable cost for driveway approaches or sidewalks listed above.

The Final Stretch

Once all the heavy equipment has been moved out of a neighborhood, crews will place new top soil and sod where needed. Once the sod has taken hold in about two or three weeks, it once again becomes the property owner’s responsibility to maintain it.

Neighbors should remember that even after the paving crews are gone, city staff is conducting periodic reviews of the project for a month after the work ceases, and it is only after these are finished that a supervisor can sign off on a project as “complete.” Also, city construction supervisors review all projects three years after completion, and if any work needs to be replaced, it is done at the contractor’s cost.